Numerical investigation of UF membrane to reduce energy consumption using double porosity approach.

Hollow fiber (HF) membranes with circular geometry, are used in many separation processes such as water and wastewater treatment. Since optimization of energy efficiency is important for wastewater treatment, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of non-circular geometry of the inner surface of the HF on the separation performance. To this purpose, the HF bundle has been assumed as a double porous media having two porosities and permeabilities. Since these two parameters are defined by the geometry of the porous medium, any change in the geometry affects their values and the media performance. Therefore, in this study a mathematical modeling has been divided into five categories, including circular, oval, square, rectangular and triangular geometries, and their geometric properties have been calculated based on three different strategies. The results have been compared with the data obtained from literature and showed that the membrane inner surface to cross-section area ratio (a), axial permeability, and porosity in the inner region for the non-circular HF are larger than that of the circular HF and a increased 16%, 27%, 35% and 65% in ellipse, square, rectangle and triangle geometry, respectively, in comparison with the circle. Axial permeability increased 98%, 68%, 63%, and 26% for a triangle, rectangle, ellipse, and square respectively in the third strategy when compared to the circle. Due to 50% feed flow rate reduction, maximum transmembrane pressure (TMP) reduction was 85% related to the rectangular geometry in the first strategy and minimum was 55% corresponding to the triangle in the third strategy. As a increased up to 65%, TMP reduced by up to 200% and consequently energy consumption and operating costs of the system are decreased.

Current knowledge on the structural proteins of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus: comparison of the North American and European isolates.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) belongs to the recently recognized Arteriviridae family within the genus Arterivirus, order Nidovirales, which also includes equine arteritis virus (EAV), lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV), and simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). Mature viral particles are composed of an envelope 50-72 nm in diameter, with an isometric core about 20-30 nm enclosing a linear positive-stranded RNA genome of approximately 15 kb. The virions are assembled by the budding of preformed nucleocapsids into the lumen of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and/or Golgi apparatus. The mature virions are then released by exocytosis. The viral genome contains eight open reading frames (ORFs) which are transcribed in cells as a nested set of subgenomic mRNAs. The ORF1a and ORF1b situated at the 5'end of the genome represent nearly 75% of the viral genome and code for proteins with apparent replicase and polymerase activities. The major structural proteins consist of a 25 kDa envelope glycoprotein (GP5), an 18-19 kDa unglycosylated membrane protein (M), and a 15 kDa nucleocapsid (N) protein, encoded by ORFs 5, 6 and 7, respectively. The N protein is the more abundant protein of the virion and is highly antigenic, which therefore makes it a suitable candidate for the detection of virus-specific antibodies and diagnosis of the disease. Four to five domains of antigenic importance have been identified for the N protein, a common conformational antigenic site for European and North American strains being localized in the central region of the protein. In cells and virions, both M and GP5 occur in heterodimeric complexes linked by disulfide bonds. The expression products of ORFs 2 and 4 are also incorporated into virus particles as additional minor membrane-associated glycoproteins designated as GP2 and GP4, with M(r) of 29 and 31 kDa, respectively. The structural nature of the ORF3 product, a highly glycosylated protein with an apparent M(r) of 42 kDa, is still being debated, in view of the apparently conflicting data on its presence in virus particles. Nonetheless, the GP3 of North American and European strains has been shown to be antigenic, providing protection for piglets against PRRSV infection in the absence of a noticeable neutralizing humoral response. Pigs exposed to the native form of GP5 by means of DNA immunization develop specific neutralizing and protecting antibodies. The GP5 is involved in antigenic variability, apoptosis, and possibly antibody-dependent enhancement phenomena. The GP4 also possesses antigenic determinants that trigger the immune system to produce neutralizing antibodies. Each of the PRRSV structural proteins carries common and type-specific antigenic determinants that permit the ability to differentiate between European and North American strains. The potential use of the PRRSV structural proteins in subunit recombinant-type vaccines is also discussed.

Lack of host specialization in Aspergillus flavus.

Aspergillus spp. cause disease in a broad range of organisms, but it is unknown if strains are specialized for particular hosts. We evaluated isolates of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Aspergillus nidulans for their ability to infect bean leaves, corn kernels, and insects (Galleria mellonella). Strains of A. flavus did not affect nonwounded bean leaves, corn kernels, or insects at 22 degrees C, but they killed insects following hemocoelic challenge and caused symptoms ranging from moderate to severe in corn kernels and bean leaves injured during inoculation. The pectinase P2c, implicated in aggressive colonization of cotton balls, is produced by most A. flavus isolates, but its absence did not prevent colonization of bean leaves. Proteases have been implicated in colonization of animal hosts. All A. flavus strains produced very similar patterns of protease isozymes when cultured on horse lung polymers. Quantitative differences in protease levels did not correlate with the ability to colonize insects. In contrast to A. flavus, strains of A. nidulans and A. fumigatus could not invade living insect or plant tissues or resist digestion by insect hemocytes. Our results indicate that A. flavus has parasitic attributes that are lacking in A. fumigatus and A. nidulans but that individual strains of A. flavus are not specialized to particular hosts.

Seroneutralization of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus correlates with antibody response to the GP5 major envelope glycoprotein.

To determine the structural protein of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) involved in the production of neutralizing antibodies following clinical infection, correlation was studied between virus neutralization capability of convalescent pig sera and antibody response to the open reading frames (ORFs) 3-, 4-, 5-, and 7-encoded proteins GP3, GP4, GP5, and N, respectively. Individual virus genes were cloned into the pGEX-4T-1 vector, and the recombinant viral proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli fused to the glutathione S-transferase (GST) protein. The resulting GST-ORF3, GST-ORF4, GST-ORF5, and GST-ORF7 recombinant fusion proteins were purified by electroelution and used as antigens for serologic testing by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western immunoblotting. The overall antibody (IgG and IgM) titers to PRRSV of pooled convalescent pig sera were first determined by indirect immunofluorescence, and then sera with specific IgG titers > 1:1,024 were tested for their specific virus neutralization activity and reactivity to individual recombinant fusion proteins. Except for the early immune response (as revealed by the presence of specific IgM), neutralizing titers were correlated with anti-GP5 titers but not with anti-GP3 and anti-GP4 titers. The correlation between virus neutralization and anti-GP5 titers was significant (r = 0.811, P < or = 0.001).

Genomic and antigenic variations of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus major envelope GP5 glycoprotein.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the importance of genomic and antigenic variations which may have affected the major envelope glycoprotein GP5 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) isolates responsible for outbreaks in Quebec and Ontario, in comparison with the modified-live U.S. vaccine strain (MLV) and the European prototype strain from Lelystad (LV). Nucleotide sequence analyses of the open reading frame (ORF)5 genes showed that all of the isolates studied were heterogenous, amino acid (aa) identities varied from 88 to 99% with the MLV strain, and between 51 and 54% with the LV strain. The aa substitutions were randomly scattered across the protein, although one region between residues 26 and 39 was found to correspond to a hypervariable region which involved 0 to 3 potential N-glycosylation sites. The ORF5 encoded products of 5 of these isolates, including the MLV and LV strains, were expressed in E. coli as recombinant proteins fused to the glutathione S-transferase (GST) protein and used to raise hyperimmune anti-ORF5 sera in rabbits. The reactivity patterns of strain-specific hyperimmune anti-ORF5 sera and a panel of 4 monoclonal antibodies directed against the ORF5 gene product of the Quebec IAF-Klop strain of PRRSV, indicated that GP5 of field isolates also underwent antigenic variations. The data suggest that neutralizing epitopes, independent of conformation and glycosylation, are also associated with antigenic variability of the GP5 of PRRSV.

Immune response in pigs vaccinated with plasmid DNA encoding ORF5 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.

The ORF5-encoded major envelope glycoprotein (GP5) of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the three major structural proteins of this virus. While some porcine convalescent sera and monoclonal antibodies directed against GP4 and GP5 have the capacity to neutralize the virus in vitro, the protein specificity of porcine neutralizing sera has not yet been established. DNA immunization with a plasmid encoding GP5 of PRRSV, under the control of a human cytomegalovirus promoter, induced anti-GP5-specific neutralizing antibodies in pigs and BALB/c mice. The GP5 protein specificity of neutralizing sera was confirmed by immunoblotting and ELISA. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from DNA-vaccinated pigs underwent blastogenic transformation in the presence of E. coli-expressed recombinant ORF5-encoded protein, indicating the specificity of the cellular immune response to GP5. Following a massive intratracheal challenge with the virulent IAF-Klop strain of PRRSV, DNA-vaccinated pigs were protected from generalized viraemia and the development of typical macroscopic lung lesions that were observed in unvaccinated, virus-challenged controls, as well as in pigs that were immunized with E. coli-expressed GST-ORF5 recombinant fusion protein. Interstitial pneumonitis and broncho-alveolitis were remarkably milder in DNA-vaccinated animals. These results suggest that the GP5 of PRRSV is a good candidate for a subunit recombinant-type vaccine.

Monoclonal antibodies to the ORF5 product of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus define linear neutralizing determinants.

Complementary DNA encoding the ORF5 gene of a Quebec reference isolate (IAF-Klop) of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vectors pGEX-4T and pET21a to produce ORF5-glutathione S-transferase and ORF5-polyhistidine fusion proteins. Five hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the 25 kDa viral envelope glycoprotein (GP5) were obtained from BALB/c mice immunized with the affinity chromatography-purified GST-ORF5 fusion protein. The polypeptide specificity of these anti-PRRSV MAbs, belonging to the IgG1 isotype, was confirmed by Western immunoblotting assays with recombinant and native viral proteins, and by radioimmunoprecipitation using [35S]methionine-labelled concentrated extracellular virus. All these MAbs showed virus-neutralizing (VN) activity, with VN titres ranging from 1:32 to 1:128. Two MAbs (IAF-1B8 and IAF-8A8) reacted with similar titres with the modified live attenuated vaccine strain ATCC VR-2332, but all five failed to react to the prototype European strain, the Lelystad virus, in VN and indirect immunofluorescence tests. The results obtained suggest that these five anti-PRRSV MAbs are directed to serotype-specific linear neutralizing epitopes which are not affected by the absence of carbohydrate residues.

Effect of AIT-082, a purine analog, on working memory in normal and aged mice.

Because working memory is the primary type of memory which is disrupted by Alzheimer's disease and stroke and during aging, any therapeutic drug for these conditions should improve and/or restore working memory. The win-shift memory paradigm has been shown to be an excellent model of working memory. In the present study, we examined the effects of a novel purine derivative, 4-[[3-(1,6-dihydro-6-oxo-9-purin-9-yl)-1- oxopropyl]amino]benzoic acid (AIT-082) and physostigmine (PHY) on working memory. Both AIT-082 and PHY improved memory in young mice and restored memory in mice with mild age-induced memory deficits; however only AID-082 was also effective in subjects with moderate deficits. Neither drug improved memory in mice with severe memory deficits. AIT-082 exhibited effectiveness over a broad dose range (0.5-60 mg/kg), and the effects lasted for seven days after a single high-dose drug administration. AIT-082 was devoid of any effects on performance variables and has not shown any toxic side effects, thus making it an interesting potential treatment for working memory deficits associated with aging, strokes, and Alzheimer's disease.