Search results for "RICH"

Construction of Recombinant Adenoviruses that Produce Infectious Hepatitis B Virus

2004

Mosaic hepatitis B virus core particles presenting the complete preS sequence of the viral envelope on their surface

2004

The sequence of the preS domain of the hepatitis B virus (HBV, genotype D) envelope was inserted into the major immunodominant region (MIR) of the C-terminally truncated HBV core (HBc) protein. In Escherichia coli, the HBc–preS fusion protein was partially soluble and did not produce particles. Co-expression of the wild-type HBc as a helper protein along with the fusion protein led to the formation of mosaic HBc particles that exhibited HBc, preS1 and preS2 antigenicity. Two alternative combinations of medium- and high-copy plasmids were used for co-expression of fusion and helper proteins, in an attempt to improve mosaic particle production. However, the preS fusion content of the particle…

Interaction of wild-type and naturally occurring deleted variants of hepatitis B virus core polypeptides leads to formation of mosaic particles

2000

AbstractThe simultaneous presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genomes carrying wild-type (wt) and in-frame deleted variants of the HBV core gene has been identified as a typical feature of HBV-infected renal transplant patients with severe liver disease. To investigate possible interactions of wt and deleted core polypeptides a two-vector Escherichia coli expression system ensuring their concomitant synthesis has been developed. Co-expression of wt and a mutant core lacking 17 amino acid residues (77–93) within the immunodominant region led to the formation of mosaic particles, whereas the mutant alone was incapable of self-assembly.

Possible role of human interleukin-6 and soluble interleukin-6 receptor in hepatitis B virus infection

2001

Human interleukin-6 has been shown to promote hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, it is not clear whether this influence is the result of a direct interaction between interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the HBV envelope proteins or of a rather indirect mechanism. A direct interaction of IL-6 and the preS region of the large envelope protein (L-protein) of HBV has been reported. In this study we assessed the binding of IL-6 and of the IL-6 receptor subunits to the preS region of the L-protein of HBV. Binding of IL-6 and IL-6 receptor subunits sIL-6R and gp130 to preS was assessed by immunoprecipitation with recombinant preS proteins. In patient sera IL-6 and sIL-6R concentrations were analysed …

Mosaic particles formed by wild-type hepatitis B virus core protein and its deletion variants consist of both homo- and heterodimers.

2003

AbstractCo-expression in Escherichia coli of wild-type (wt) hepatitis B virus core protein (HBc) and its naturally occurring variants with deletions at amino acid positions 77–93 or 86–93 leads to formation of mosaic particles, which consist of three dimer subunit compositions. These compositions are wt/variant HBc heterodimers and two types of homodimers, formed by wt HBc or the variant HBc themselves. Mosaic particles were found also when both HBc deletion variants 77–93 and 86–93 were co-expressed in E. coli. These findings are discussed in terms of their significance for hepatitis B virus pathogenesis and prospective use of mosaic particles in vaccine development.

Pesticide doses, landscape structure and their relative effects on farmland birds

2014

International audience; tAgricultural changes related to the intensification of farming practices and the simplification of land-scape elements often occur simultaneously. Their respective effects on biodiversity are thus difficult todisentangle and are poorly understood. This study assessed the relative contribution of each componentof agricultural intensification on taxonomic and functional bird communities.The bird communities studied were composed of 70 species, both farmland and non-farmland birds,found in 66 fields covering three main cereal departments of France. Herbicide dose was related to mea-surable negative effects on the Community Specialization Index (CSI). Overall, the propo…

Daurian pikas ( Ochotona daurica ) and grassland condition in eastern Mongolia

2003

Pikas ( Ochotona spp.) are burrowing herbivorous mammals believed to play a keystone role in determining the biodiversity of steppe ecosystems. Impacts of domestic livestock grazing on the distribution and abundance of the Daurian pika Ochotona daurica were investigated in eastern Mongolia where the species is widespread and abundant. Effects of pikas on plant species richness and vegetation coverage were examined at different distances from burrow systems. Daurian pikas were nearly absent from severely grazed study sites, and incidence of the species increased with decreasing grazing intensity. The number of occupied burrow systems and usage of burrows was higher in sites with lower grazin…

Stability of radial symmetry for a Monge-Ampère overdetermined problem

2008

Recently the symmetry of solutions to overdetermined problems has been established for the class of Hessian operators, including the Monge-Ampère operator. In this paper we prove that the radial symmetry of the domain and of the solution to an overdetermined Dirichlet problem for the Monge-Ampère equation is stable under suitable perturbations of the data. © 2008 Fondazione Annali di Matematica Pura ed Applicata and Springer-Verlag.

The Space Filling Dirichlet 3-Brane in N=2, D=4 Superspace

2001

We discuss a four-dimensional Volkov-Akulov supersymmetric theory on a D3-brane with N=2 supersymmetry broken down to N=1.

Schools of Nursing and Health Professions of the Saint Camillo-Forlanini Hospital

2014

Healthcare professionals of the S. Camillo-Forlanini Hospital (Rome) daily provide citizens with highly specialized treatments. The Hospital is also an academic base where professionals are trained; in particular, nursing training dates back to the „50s. Training activities have greatly evolved and improved with the years, thus increasing the level of competence of these professional figures. Furthermore, they may transfer their skills in European and extra European countries within the clinical environment. Advanced competence and research are the foundations on which a novel awareness of health-related issues may take shape. In order to optimize the overall costs of a Hospital such as the…