Long-Term Protection against Virulent Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) in Chickens Immunized with a Single Dose of Recombinant Turkey Herpesvirus Expressing NDV F Protein.

Newcastle disease (ND) is a significant infectious disease in poultry, causing substantial economic losses in developing countries. To control ND, chickens must be vaccinated multiple times a year. In order to develop an improved vaccine that provides long-term protection, the F gene from genotype VII NDV was inserted into the herpesvirus of turkey (HVT) vaccine virus using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated NHEJ repair and Cre/LoxP technology.

Metabolomic profiling of Marek's disease virus infection in host cell based on untargeted LC-MS.

Marek's disease (MD) caused by Marek's disease virus (MDV), poses a serious threat to the poultry industry by inducing neurological disease and malignant lymphoma in infected chickens. However, the underlying mechanisms how MDV disrupts host cells and causes damage still remain elusive. Recently, the application of metabolomics has shown great potential for uncovering the complex mechanisms during virus-host interactions.

SCAMPER: Accurate Type-Specific Prediction of Calcium-Binding Residues Using Sequence-Derived Features.

Understanding molecular mechanisms involved in calcium-protein interactions and modeling corresponding docking rely on the accurate identification of calcium-binding residues (CaBRs). The defects of experimentally annotating protein functions enhances the development of computational approaches that correctly identify calcium-binding interactions. Studies have reported that current methods severely cross-predict residues that interact with other types of molecules (e.

Identification of Cancer Biomarkers in Human Body Fluids by Using Enhanced Physicochemical-incorporated Evolutionary Conservation Scheme.

Objective: Cancer is one of the most serious diseases affecting human health. Among all current cancer treatments, early diagnosis and control significantly help increase the chances of cure. Detecting cancer biomarkers in body fluids now is attracting more attention within oncologists.

Solid-Contact Ion-Selective Electrodes: Response Mechanisms, Transducer Materials and Wearable Sensors.

Wearable sensors based on solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (SC-ISEs) are currently attracting intensive attention in monitoring human health conditions through real-time and non-invasive analysis of ions in biological fluids. SC-ISEs have gone through a revolution with improvements in potential stability and reproducibility. The introduction of new transducing materials, the understanding of theoretical potentiometric responses, and wearable applications greatly facilitate SC-ISEs.

A portable fast neutron irradiation system for tumor therapy.

A portable neutron tube was introduced as a small-sized (weight≤14.4 kg, power consumption ≤50W and cost≤ $100,000) neutron accelerator and applied for irradiation therapy on cancer. The effect of growth-inhibiting in vitro by neutrons irradiation on HeLa cells (human cervical cancer cells) was evaluated by colony formation assays, and cell apoptosis was evaluated by Flow Cytometry.

Prediction of bioluminescent proteins by using sequence-derived features and lineage-specific scheme.

Background: Bioluminescent proteins (BLPs) widely exist in many living organisms. As BLPs are featured by the capability of emitting lights, they can be served as biomarkers and easily detected in biomedical research, such as gene expression analysis and signal transduction pathways. Therefore, accurate identification of BLPs is important for disease diagnosis and biomedical engineering.

TOX and ADIPOQ Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain in Han Chinese.

To find the genetic markers related to the antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG), we analyzed associations among candidate gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and quantitative traits of weight changes and lipid profiles in a Chinese Han population. A total of 339 schizophrenic patients, including 86 first-episode patients (FEPs), meeting the entry criteria were collected. All patients received atypical antipsychotic drug monotherapy and hospitalization and were followed for 12 weeks.

HEMEsPred: Structure-Based Ligand-Specific Heme Binding Residues Prediction by Using Fast-Adaptive Ensemble Learning Scheme.

Heme is an essential biomolecule that widely exists in numerous extant organisms. Accurately identifying heme binding residues (HEMEs) is of great importance in disease progression and drug development. In this study, a novel predictor named HEMEsPred was proposed for predicting HEMEs.

Identification of DNA-binding proteins using multi-features fusion and binary firefly optimization algorithm.

Background: DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) play fundamental roles in many biological processes. Therefore, the developing of effective computational tools for identifying DBPs is becoming highly desirable.

Results: In this study, we proposed an accurate method for the prediction of DBPs.

Identification of S-glutathionylation sites in species-specific proteins by incorporating five sequence-derived features into the general pseudo-amino acid composition.

As a selective and reversible protein post-translational modification, S-glutathionylation generates mixed disulfides between glutathione (GSH) and cysteine residues, and plays an important role in regulating protein activity, stability, and redox regulation. To fully understand S-glutathionylation mechanisms, identification of substrates and specific S-Glutathionylated sites is crucial. Experimental identification of S-glutathionylated sites is labor-intensive and time consuming, so establishing an effective computational method is much desirable due to their convenient and fast speed.

A novel conformational B-cell epitope prediction method based on mimotope and patch analysis.

A B-cell epitope is a group of residues on the surface of an antigen that stimulates humoral immune responses. Identifying B-cell epitopes is important for effective vaccine design. Predicting epitopes by experimental methods is expensive in terms of time, cost and effort; therefore, computational methods that have a low cost and high speed are widely used to predict B-cell epitopes.

In vitro dynamic degradation behavior of new magnesium alloy for orthopedic applications.

We report on methodologies for use in the design of a biodegradable Mg alloy appropriate for load-bearing but temporary orthopedic implant applications. Comparative studies of Mg-5Ca and Mg-5Ca-1Zn were conducted to explore the effects of a combination of minor alloying and hot extrusion, on the alloy's mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. The extruded Mg-5Ca-1Zn exhibited high ultimate compressive strength of 385 MPa and suffered no significant structural degradation even after immersion in simulated body fluid for 30 days.

Biodegradability engineering of biodegradable Mg alloys: tailoring the electrochemical properties and microstructure of constituent phases.

Crystalline Mg-based alloys with a distinct reduction in hydrogen evolution were prepared through both electrochemical and microstructural engineering of the constituent phases. The addition of Zn to Mg-Ca alloy modified the corrosion potentials of two constituent phases (Mg + Mg2Ca), which prevented the formation of a galvanic circuit and achieved a comparable corrosion rate to high purity Mg. Furthermore, effective grain refinement induced by the extrusion allowed the achievement of much lower corrosion rate than high purity Mg.

Abnormality of glycometabolism related factors in non-psychotic offspring of schizophrenic patients.

Schizophrenic patients appear to have higher rates of abnormality of glycometabolism. It has been suggested that these could be secondary to the use of antipsychotics. However, findings indicate that abnormal glucose metabolism may be potentially involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Hexaaqua-zinc(II) bis-(2,4,5-tricarboxybenzoate) 4,5-diaza-fluoren-9-one disolvate dihydrate.

The asymmetric unit of the title complex, [Zn(H(2)O)(6)](C(10)H(5)O(8))(2)·2C(11)H(6)N(2)O·2H(2)O, contains one half of the complex cation with the Zn(II) ion located on an inversion center, a monovalent 2,4,5-tricarboxybenzoate (1,2,4,5-BTC) counter-anion, a 4,5-diaza-fluoren-9-one (DAFO) mol-ecule and an uncoordinated water mol-ecule. In the crystal structure, O-H⋯O and O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the cations, anions and water mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network.

Ion-responsive behavior of ionic-liquid surfactant aggregates with applications in controlled release and emulsification.

We propose a simple but efficient, rapid, and quantitative ion-responsive micelle system based on counter-anion exchange of a surfactant with an imidazolium unit. The ion-exchange reaction results in the amphiphilic-to-hydrophobic transition of the imidazolium salt, leading to the destruction of the micelles, which has been successfully applied to controlled release and emulsification. The proposed design offers a novel alternative stimulus to control these smart physical aggregates besides pH, temperature and light-with extra advantages.

Size-controlled synthesis of monodispersed gold nanoparticles stabilized by polyelectrolyte-functionalized ionic liquid.

The size-controlled synthesis of monodispersed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) stabilized by polyelectrolyte-functionalized ionic liquid (PFIL) is described. The resulting AuNPs' size, with a narrow distribution, can be tuned by the concentration of HAuCl(4). Such PFIL-stabilized AuNPs (PFIL-AuNPs) showed a high stability in water at room temperature for at least one month; they were also quite stable in solutions of pH 7-13 and high concentration of NaCl.

Enriched environment treatment counteracts enhanced addictive and depressive-like behavior induced by prenatal chronic stress.

Prenatal stress can cause many long-term behavior changes in offspring, but whether prenatal stress can alter addictive behavior in offspring and postnatal enriched environment treatment (EE) can restore these changes are unknown. We reported here that prenatal chronic stress (10 unpredictable, 1 s, 0.8 mA foot-shocks per day during gestational days 13-19) enhanced morphine-induced (10 mg/kg, s.