eDNA,Amyloid Fibers and Membrane Vesicles Identified in Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 Biofilms

Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 is a model soil- and plant-associated bacterium capable of forming a variety of air–liquid interface biofilms in experimental microcosms and on plant surfaces. Previous investigations have shown that cellulose is the primary structural matrix component in the robust and well-attached Wrinkly Spreader biofilm, as well as in the fragile Viscous Mass biofilm. Here, we demonstrate that both biofilms include extracellular DNA (eDNA) which can be visualized using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), quantified by absorbance measurements, and degraded by DNase I treatment. This eDNA plays an important role in cell attachment and biofilm development. However, exogenous high-molecular-weight DNA appears to decrease the strength and attachment levels of mature Wrinkly Spreader biofilms, whereas low-molecular-weight DNA appears to have little effect. Further investigation with CLSM using an amyloid-specific fluorophore suggests that the Wrinkly Spreader biofilm might also include Fap fibers, which might be involved in attachment and contribute to biofilm strength. The robust nature of the Wrinkly Spreader biofilm also allowed us, using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, to identify matrix-associated proteins unable to diffuse out of the structure, as well as membrane vesicles which had a different protein profile compared to the matrix-associated proteins. CLSM and DNase I treatment suggest that some vesicles were also associated with eDNA. These findings add to our understanding of the matrix components in this model pseudomonad, and, as found in other biofilms, biofilm-specific products and material from lysed cells contribute to these structures through a range of complex interactions.     

Immune and Anticancer Responses Elicited by Fully Synthetic Aberrantly Glycosylated MUC1 Tripartite Vaccines Modified by a TLR2 or TLR9 Agonist

The mucin MUC1 is overexpressed and aberrantly glycosylated by many epithelial cancer cells manifested by truncated O‐linked saccharides. Although tumor‐associated MUC1 has generated considerable attention because of its potential for the development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine, it has been difficult to design constructs that consistently induce cytotoxic T‐lymphocytes (CTLs) and ADCC‐mediating antibodies specific for the tumor form of MUC1. We have designed, chemically synthesized, and immunologically examined vaccine candidates each composed of a glycopeptide derived from MUC1, a promiscuous T_helper peptide, and a TLR2 (Pam₃CysSK₄) or TLR9 (CpG‐ODN 1826) agonist. It was found that the Pam₃CysSK₄‐containing compound elicits more potent antigenic and cellular immune responses, resulting in a therapeutic effect in a mouse model of mammary cancer. It is thus shown, for the first time, that the nature of an inbuilt adjuvant of a tripartite vaccine can significantly impact the quality of immune responses elicited against a tumor‐associated glycopeptide. The unique adjuvant properties of Pam₃CysSK₄, which can reduce the suppressive function of regulatory T cells and enhance the cytotoxicity of tumor‐specific CTLs, are likely responsible for the superior properties of the vaccine candidate 1 .     

纺织印花机的色彩管理及在线通讯

本文描述了用于公司内部以及供货商与消费者之间的色彩管理和交流的方法，以及那些已经应用了一段时间的方法。同时就纺织品喷墨印花技术作了相关的讨论，这种技术要求印花专家具有全新的思维模式。     

An initial comparison of a fuzzy neural classifier and a decision tree based classifier

At the present time a large number of AI methods have been developed in the field of pattern classification. In this paper, we will compare the performance of a well-known algorithm in machine learning (C4.5) with a recently proposed algorithm in the fuzzy set community (NEFCLASS). We will compare the algorithms both on the accuracy attained and on the size of the induced rule base. Additionally, we will investigate how the selected algorithms perform after they have been pre-processed by discretization and feature selection.     

True trisomy 15 mosaicism, detected by amniocentesis at 12 weeks of gestation and fetal echocardiography

A case of mosaicism of trisomy 15, with two-thirds of the cells trisomic, was detected at 12 weeks of gestation in amniotic fluid cell cultures obtained with the filtration technique. Ultrasound examination at 13 weeks showed a nodule protruding into the amniotic cavity which was speculated to be remnants of a co-twin, causing the trisomic cell line. At 20 weeks of gestation, a malformation scan (level III) was normal, but supplementary fetal echocardiography revealed a severe cardiac defect (mitral atresia and a ventricular septal defect). Fetal lymphocytes obtained by cordocentesis showed trisomy 15 mosaicism, but only in 5 per cent of the mitoses. After termination, the same percentage of trisomy 15 mosaicism was found in cells from skin and tendon as in the original early amniocentesis. No sign of earlier twinning was found in the placenta or membranes. We conclude that mosaicism in early amniotic fluid obtained by the filter technique in this case reflected the true karyotype accurately and that supplementary echocardiography added significantly to the interpretation of the clinical implications.     

Distinctive roles of oleate and glucagen in gluconeogenesis

Osteogenesis in the penial bone was observed in male rat: immature stromal cells of mesenchymal origin appeared in the penis on the 21st day of fetal age and developed to form mature bony structure with the bonemarrow on or before day 7 after birth; the bone was 1.41 +/- 0.12 mm in length. Neonatal castration caused maldevelopment of the penial bone, while prepuberal treatment with testosterone propionate stimulated the bony growth in castrated immature rat. These results suggest that the stromal cells in penile part of newborn male rats have already been destinated to develop into os penis by fetal exposure to androgen and they do not require androgens for further differentiation but for the bony growth after birth.     

Team-optimal closed-loop Stackelberg strategies in hierarchical control problems

This paper is concerned with the derivation of closed-loop Stackelberg (CLS) solutions of a class of continuous-time two-player nonzero-sum differential games characterized by linear state dynamics and quadratic cost functionals. Explicit conditions are obtained for both the finite and infinite horizon problems under which the CLS solution is a representation of the optimal feedback solution of a related team problem which is defined as the joint minimization of the leader's cost function. First, a specific class of representations is considered which depend linearly on the current and initial values of the state, and then the results are extended to encompass a more general class of linear strategies that also incorporate the whole past trajectory. The conditions obtained all involve solutions of linear matrix equations and are amenable to computational analysis for explicit determination of CLS strategies.     

Removal of some elements from washed and cooked rice studied by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and synchrotron based confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence

Extraction of As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni and Ti from two white as well as from one brown rice samples was studied by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SF-MS). Samples were subjected to cold and hot water extraction (rice mass to deionised water volume ratio = 1:6, and 1:3, respectively). The discarded liquids were freeze-dried and digested by microwave-assisted digestion. About 50% of the content of the investigated elements could be extracted from the white rice. In case of the brown rice, the boiling water contained As, Cd, Ni and Ti in significant percentages. Elemental distributions in the rice grains determined by synchrotron radiation confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed that a surface layer having a thickness of about 80 μm is the richest region in elements. Ti was detectable only in this so-called skin region. Good correlation was observed for the extraction of As, Mn, Ni and Ti by the above-mentioned two techniques. Thus, in regions affected by heavy metal and other toxic element contamination, those rice dishes would be preferred whose preparation should need abundant amounts of water for washing and cooking, which later should be discarded.     

Automated conceptual model clustering: a relator-centric approach

Software and Systems Modeling - In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of reference conceptual models to capture information about complex and sensitive business domains...