scholarly journals Profiles of Antibody Responses against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Recombinant Proteins and Their Potential Use as Diagnostic Markers

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yee-Joo Tan ◽  
Phuay-Yee Goh ◽  
Burtram C. Fielding ◽  
Shuo Shen ◽  
Chih-Fong Chou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Viral Proteins ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Healthy Donors ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Acute Nature ◽  
Potential Use

ABSTRACT A new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus [SARS-CoV]) has been identified to be the etiological agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Given the highly contagious and acute nature of the disease, there is an urgent need for the development of diagnostic assays that can detect SARS-CoV infection. For determination of which of the viral proteins encoded by the SARS-CoV genome may be exploited as diagnostic antigens for serological assays, the viral proteins were expressed individually in mammalian and/or bacterial cells and tested for reactivity with sera from SARS-CoV-infected patients by Western blot analysis. A total of 81 sera, including 67 from convalescent patients and seven pairs from two time points of infection, were analyzed, and all showed immunoreactivity towards the nucleocapsid protein (N). Sera from some of the patients also showed immunoreactivity to U274 (59 of 81 [73%]), a protein that is unique to SARS-CoV. In addition, all of the convalescent-phase sera showed immunoreactivity to the spike (S) protein when analyzed by an immunofluorescence method utilizing mammalian cells stably expressing S. However, samples from the acute phase (2 to 9 days after the onset of illness) did not react with S, suggesting that antibodies to N may appear earlier than antibodies to S. Alternatively, this could be due to the difference in the sensitivities of the two methods. The immunoreactivities to these recombinant viral proteins are highly specific, as sera from 100 healthy donors did not react with any of them. These results suggest that recombinant N, S, and U274 proteins may be used as antigens for the development of serological assays for SARS-CoV.

scholarly journals The Use of Bacteriophage for Detection and Biocontrol of Foodborne Pathogen

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Tati Ariyanti
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Foodborne Pathogen ◽  
Foodborne Disease ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Detection Tool ◽  
Specific Receptors ◽  
Antibiotics Detection ◽  
Potential Use

Bacteriophages are viruses that have ability to attack bacterial cells in specific receptors, infect, multiply in bacterial cells and eventually lyse bacterial cells. This unique bacteriophage character is highly beneficial because it is harmless to mammalian cells and does not interfere with natural microbes. Bacteriophages are easy to obtain because they are widespread in the environment such as soil, water, animal, and farm waste or food. This paper describes the potential use of bacteriophages to detect pathogen and foodborne pathogen biocontrol. Bacteriophages are very potential to control the growth of pathogenic bacteria both in food industry and environment. Bacteriophages act as antibiotics, detection tool for pathogenic bacteria in the food chain, food biopreservative from pathogen bacteria contamination, and foodborne disease prevention. Although research on bacteriophage in Indonesia has not been widely reported, research on bacteriophage utilization is being carried on.

scholarly journals Viability markers for determination of desiccation tolerance and critical stages during dehydration in Selaginella species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Alejo-Jacuinde ◽  
Tania Kean-Galeno ◽  
Norma Martínez-Gallardo ◽  
Daniel Tejero-Díez ◽  
Klaus Mehltreter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Desiccation Tolerance ◽  
Tissue Viability ◽  
Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Whole Plants ◽  
Excised Tissue ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Viability Markers

Plants can tolerate some degree of dehydration but below a threshold of water content most plants die. However, some species display specific physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses that allow survival to desiccation. Some of these responses are activated at critical stages during water loss and could represent the difference between desiccation tolerance (DT) and death. Here, we report the development of a simple and reproducible system to determine DT in Selaginella species. This system is based on the use of excised tissue (explants), exposed to a dehydration agent inside small containers, rather than whole plants making it faster, better controlled, and potential use under field conditions. We also report that the triphenyltetrazolium chloride test is a simple and accurate assay to determine tissue viability. The explant system is particularly useful to identify critical points during the dehydration process and was applied to identify novel desiccation-tolerant Selaginella species. Our data suggest that desiccation-sensitive Selaginella species have a change in viability when dehydrated to 40% RWC, indicating the onset of a critical condition at this water content. Comparative studies at these critical stages could provide a better understanding of DT mechanisms and unravel insights into the key responses to survive desiccation.

FRACTIONAL DETERMINATIONS OF URINARY 17-KETOSTEROIDS IN HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM

1962 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pentti A. Järvinen ◽  
Sykkö Pesonen ◽  
Pirkko Väänänen
Keyword(s):  
Hyperemesis Gravidarum ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Daily Urine ◽  
First Trimester Of Pregnancy ◽  
The Difference

ABSTRACT The fractional determination of 17-ketosteroids in the daily urine was performed in nine cases of hyperemesis gravidarum and in four control cases, in the first trimester of pregnancy both before and after corticotrophin administration. The excretion of total 17-KS is similar in the two groups. Only in the hyperemesis group does the excretion of total 17-KS increase significantly after corticotrophin administration. The fractional determination reveals no difference between the two groups of patients with regard to the values of the fractions U (unidentified 17-KS), A (androsterone) and Rest (11-oxygenated 17-KS). The excretion of dehydroepiandrosterone is significantly higher in the hyperemesis group than in the control group. The excretion of androstanolone seems to be lower in the hyperemesis group than in the control group, but the difference is not statistically significant. The differences in the correlation between dehydroepiandrosterone and androstanolone in the two groups is significant. The high excretion of dehydroepiandrosterone and low excretion of androstanolone in cases of hyperemesis gravidarum is a sign of adrenal dysfunction.

THE SUBJECT FIELD OF INSTITUTIONAL EDUCATION: THE SENSE AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

2020 ◽  
pp. 25-38
Author(s):  
Irina Mordous
Keyword(s):  
Decisive Role ◽  
Subject Field ◽  
National Education ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Separate Area ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Political Economic

The development of modern civilization attests to its decisive role in the progressive development of institutions. They identified the difference between Western civilization and the rest of the world. Confirmation of the institutional advantages of the West was its early industrialization. The genesis and formation of institutionalism in its ideological and conceptualmethodological orientation occurs as a process alternative to neoclassic in the context of world heterodoxia, which quickly spread in social science. Highlighting institutional education as a separate area of sociocultural activity is determined by the factor of differentiation of institutional theory as a whole. A feature of institutional education is its orientation toward the individual and his/her transformation into a personality. The content of institutional education is revealed through the analysis of the institution, which includes a set of established customs, traditions, ways of thinking, behavioral stereotypes of individuals and social groups. The dynamics of socio-political, economic transformations in Ukraine requires a review of the foundations of national education and determination of the prospects for its development in the 21st century in the context of institutionalism.

Possible Targets and Therapies of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 1900-1907
Author(s):  
Kasturi Sarkar ◽  
Parames C. Sil ◽  
Seyed Fazel Nabavi ◽  
Ioana Berindan-Neagoe ◽  
Cosmin Andrei Cismaru ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Viral Replication ◽  
Viral Infection ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Viral Proteins ◽  
Therapeutic Agents ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Global Spread ◽  
Repurposed Drugs

The global spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 has become a source of grave medical and socioeconomic concern to human society. Since its first appearance in the Wuhan region of China in December 2019, the most effective measures of managing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been social distancing and lockdown of human activity; the level of which has not been seen in our generations. Effective control of the viral infection and COVID-19 will ultimately depend on the development of either a vaccine or therapeutic agents. This article highlights the progresses made so far in these strategies by assessing key targets associated with the viral replication cycle. The key viral proteins and enzymes that could be targeted by new and repurposed drugs are discussed.

scholarly journals Possibility of Human Gender Recognition Using Raman Spectra of Teeth

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 3983
Author(s):  
Ozren Gamulin ◽  
Marko Škrabić ◽  
Kristina Serec ◽  
Matej Par ◽  
Marija Baković ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raman Spectra ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Gender Recognition ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Tooth Type ◽  
Tooth Apex ◽  
The Difference

Gender determination of the human remains can be very challenging, especially in the case of incomplete ones. Herein, we report a proof-of-concept experiment where the possibility of gender recognition using Raman spectroscopy of teeth is investigated. Raman spectra were recorded from male and female molars and premolars on two distinct sites, tooth apex and anatomical neck. Recorded spectra were sorted into suitable datasets and initially analyzed with principal component analysis, which showed a distinction between spectra of male and female teeth. Then, reduced datasets with scores of the first 20 principal components were formed and two classification algorithms, support vector machine and artificial neural networks, were applied to form classification models for gender recognition. The obtained results showed that gender recognition with Raman spectra of teeth is possible but strongly depends both on the tooth type and spectrum recording site. The difference in classification accuracy between different tooth types and recording sites are discussed in terms of the molecular structure difference caused by the influence of masticatory loading or gender-dependent life events.

scholarly journals Comparison of Five Serological Assays for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Anja Dörschug ◽  
Julian Schwanbeck ◽  
Andreas Hahn ◽  
Anke Hillebrecht ◽  
Sabine Blaschke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Blood Donor ◽  
Immunoglobulin G ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Antibodies ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Immunoglobulin Class ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Immunoglobulin Subclass

Serological assays can contribute to the estimation of population proportions with previous immunologically relevant contact with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. In this study, we compared five commercially available diagnostic assays for the diagnostic identification of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. Depending on the assessed immunoglobulin subclass, recorded sensitivity ranged from 17.0% to 81.9% with best results for immunoglobulin G. Specificity with blood donor sera ranged from 90.2% to 100%, with sera from EBV patients it ranged from 84.3% to 100%. Agreement from fair to nearly perfect was recorded depending on the immunoglobulin class between the assays, the with best results being found for immunoglobulin G. Only for this immunoglobulin class was the association between later sample acquisition times (about three weeks after first positive PCR results) and positive serological results in COVID-19 patients confirmed. In conclusion, acceptable and comparable reliability for the assessed immunoglobulin G-specific assays could be shown, while there is still room for improvement regarding the reliability of the assays targeting the other immunoglobulin classes.

scholarly journals Applicability of Cork as Novel Modifiers to Develop Electrochemical Sensor for Caffeine Determination

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Mayra K. S. Monteiro ◽  
Djalma R. Da Silva ◽  
Marco A. Quiroz ◽  
Vítor J. P. Vilar ◽  
Carlos A. Martínez-Huitle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrochemical Sensor ◽  
Linear Response ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Pharmaceutical Formulations ◽  
Caffeine Concentration ◽  
Real Samples ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Use

This study aims to investigate the applicability of a hybrid electrochemical sensor composed of cork and graphite (Gr) for detecting caffeine in aqueous solutions. Raw cork (RAC) and regranulated cork (RGC, obtained by thermal treatment of RAC with steam at 380 °C) were tested as modifiers. The results clearly showed that the cork-graphite sensors, GrRAC and GrRGC, exhibited a linear response over a wide range of caffeine concentration (5–1000 µM), with R2 of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), estimated at 2.9 and 6.1 µM for GrRAC and GrRGC, suggest greater sensitivity and reproducibility than the unmodified conventional graphite sensor. The low-cost cork-graphite sensors were successfully applied in the determination of caffeine in soft drinks and pharmaceutical formulations, presenting well-defined current signals when analyzing real samples. When comparing electrochemical determinations and high performance liquid chromatography measurements, no significant differences were observed (mean accuracy 3.0%), highlighting the potential use of these sensors to determine caffeine in different samples.

scholarly journals Influence of a Natural Plant Antioxidant on the Ageing Process of Ethylene-norbornene Copolymer (Topas)

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 4018
Author(s):  
Anna Masek ◽  
Angelika Plota
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Colour Change ◽  
Good Alternative ◽  
Plant Origin ◽  
Aging Behavior ◽  
Current State ◽  
Ft Ir ◽  
Potential Use

In the field of polymer technology, a variety of mainly synthetic additives are used to stabilize the materials during processing. However, natural compounds of plant origin can be a green alternative to chemicals such as synthetic polyphenols. An analysis of the effect of hesperidin on the aging behavior of ethylene-norbornene copolymer was performed. The evaluation of changes in the tested samples was possible by applying the following tests: determination of the surface energy and OIT values, mechanical properties analysis, colour change measurements, FT-IR and TGA analyses. The obtained results proved that hesperidin can be effectively used as natural stabilizer for polymers. Furthermore, as a result of this compound addition to Topas-silica composites, their surface and physico-mechanical properties have been improved and the resistance to aging significantly increased. Additionally, hesperidin can act as a dye or colour indicator and only few scientific reports describe a possibility of using flavonoids to detect changes in products during their service life, e.g., in food packaging. In the available literature, there is no information about the potential use of hesperidin as a stabilizer for cycloolefin copolymers. Therefore, this approach may contribute not only to the current state of knowledge, but also presents an eco-friendly solution that can be a good alternative to synthetic stabilizers.

scholarly journals Determination of intermediate state structures in the opening pathway of SARS-CoV-2 spike using cryo-electron microscopy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Faidon Brotzakis ◽  
Thomas Lohr ◽  
Michele Vendruscolo
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Intermediate State ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Welfare Systems

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19, a highly infectious disease that is severely affecting our society and welfare systems. In order to develop therapeutic interventions against this...

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