Intracellular Vimentin Regulates the Formation of Classical Swine Fever Virus Replication Complex through Interaction with NS5A Protein.

Vimentin (VIM), an indispensable protein, is responsible for the formation of intermediate filament structures within cells and plays a crucial role in viral infections. However, the precise role of VIM in classical swine fever virus (CSFV) infection remains unclear. Herein, we systematically investigated the function of VIM in CSFV replication. We demonstrated that both knockdown and overexpression of VIM affected CSFV replication. Furthermore, we observed by confocal microscopy the rearrangement of cellular VIM into a cage-like structure during CSFV infection. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging indicated that the cage-like structures were localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and ringed around the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), thereby suggesting that VIM was associated with the formation of the viral replication complex (VRC). Mechanistically, phosphorylation of VIM at serine 72 (Ser72), regulated by the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway, induced VIM rearrangement upon CSFV infection. Confocal microscopy and coimmunoprecipitation assays revealed that VIM colocalized and interacted with CSFV NS5A. Structurally, it was determined that amino acids 96 to 407 of VIM and amino acids 251 to 416 of NS5A were the respective important domains for this interaction. Importantly, both VIM knockdown and disruption of VIM rearrangement inhibited the localization of NS5A in the ER, implying that VIM rearrangement recruited NS5A to the ER for VRC formation. Collectively, our results suggest that VIM recruits NS5A to form a stable VRC that is protected by the cage-like structure formed by VIM rearrangement, ultimately leading to enhanced virus replication. These findings highlight the critical role of VIM in the formation and stabilization of VRC, which provides alternative strategies for the development of antiviral drugs. IMPORTANCE Classical swine fever (CSF), caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV), is a highly infectious disease that poses a significant threat to the global pig industry. Therefore, gaining insights into the virus and its interaction with host cells is crucial for developing effective antiviral measures and controlling the spread of CSF. Previous studies have shown that CSFV infection induces rearrangement of the endoplasmic reticulum, leading to the formation of small vesicular organelles containing nonstructural protein and double-stranded RNA of CSFV, as well as some host factors. These organelles then assemble into viral replication complexes (VRCs). In this study, we have discovered that VIM recruited CSFV NS5A to form a stable VRC that was protected by a cage-like structure formed by rearranged VIM. This enhanced viral replication. Our findings not only shed light on the molecular mechanism of CSFV replication but also offer new insights into the development of antiviral strategies for controlling CSFV.

Using satellite data on remote transportation of air pollutants for PM2.5 prediction in northern Taiwan.

Accurate PM2.5 prediction is part of the fight against air pollution that helps governments to manage environmental policy. Satellite Remote sensing aerosol optical depth (AOD) processed by The Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correlation (MAIAC) algorithm allows us to observe the transportation of remote pollutants between regions. The paper proposes a composite neural network model, the Remote Transported Pollutants (RTP) model, for such long-range pollutant transportation that predicts more accurate local PM2.5 concentrations given such satellite data. The proposed RTP model integrates several deep learning components and learns from the heterogeneous features of various domains. We also detected remote transportation pollution events (RTPEs) at two reference sites from the AOD data. Extensive experiments using real-world data show that the proposed RTP model outperforms the base model that does not account for RTPEs by 17%-30%, 23%-26% and 18%-22% and state-of-the-art models that account for RTPEs by 12%-22%, 12%-14%, and 10%-11% at +4h to +24h, +28h to +48 hours, and +52h to +72h hours respectively.

The universal newborn hearing screening program of Taipei City.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a hearing screening program with high coverage, low referral rate, high follow-up rate, and early intervention in Taipei City. METHODS: From September 2009 to December 2010, 85% delivery units in Taipei City, which includes 20 hospitals and 14 obstetrics clinics, were recruited into the screening program in two stages. A total of 15,930 babies were born in these participating hospitals and clinics during the program period. Among these neonates, 15,790 underwent hearing screening test with automatic auditory brainstem response (AABR). The screening was free of charge to the parents. The hearing screening examination was performed 24-36 h after birth. The same test was repeated between 36 and 60 h of age if the baby failed the first hearing test. The neonate was referred to the diagnostic hospitals for further investigations if he failed the second test. RESULTS: The screening coverage rate was 99.1% (15,790/15,930). The incidence of bilateral moderate to severe and unilateral hearing loss was 1.4 per 1000 (22/15,790) and 1.5 per 1000 (24/15,790), respectively. Four percent (626/15,790) of newborns failed to pass the initial screening test and 1.0% of newborns failed to pass the second screening test. Therefore, 1.0% newborns were referred for diagnostic assessments. The follow-up rate was 94.4% (151/160). Sixty-four percent (14/22) of babies with bilateral hearing loss completed the full diagnostic hearing tests within 3 months of birth. CONCLUSIONS: The universal newborn hearing screening program is an adequate program for Taipei City with high coverage, low referral rate, and good follow-up rate. Screening fees covered by third parties, two-stage screening steps with AABR strategy, and the stringent monitoring system proved to be effective. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2b, individual cohort study.

Generation and control of optical vortices using left-handed materials.

Optical vortices are shown to be generated in the near-field through interference between a propagating wave and the amplified evanescent field in a slab of lossy left-handed material. While small loss adversely impacts the sub-wavelength performance in the lens application, the vortex character shown relies on some degree of imperfection. These vortices can be controlled by means of gain/loss and the incident field.

Poynting vector analysis of a superlens.

A power analysis of the lossy negative refractive index or left-handed slab lens is described. The presence of vortices in the image plane is revealed with small loss or gain, and these are attributed to the influence of field growth in the evanescent spectrum.