196,177 research outputs found
Characterization of the murine cytomegalovirus genes encoding the major DNA binding protein and the ICP18.5 homolog
No full textIn several herpesviruses the genes for the major DNA binding protein (MDBP), a putative assembly protein, the
glycoprotein B (gB), and the viral DNA polymerase (pol) coliocate. In murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), two members
of this gene block, pol (Elliott, Clark, Jaquish, and Spector, 1991, Virology 185, 169-186) and gB (Rapp, Messerle,
BOhler, Tannheimer, Keil, and Koszinowski, 1992, J. Virol., 66,4399-4406) have been characterized. Here the two other
MCMV genes are characterized, the gene encoding the MDBP and the ICP18.5 homolog encoding a putative
assembly protein. Like in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) the genes order is pol, gB, ICP18.5, and MDBP. The 4.2-kb
MDBP mRNA is expressed first in the early phase, whereas the 3.0-kb ICP18.5 mRNA is a late transcript. The open
reading frame of the MDBP gene has the capacity of encoding a protein of 1191 amino acids with a predicted molecular
mass of 131.7 kDa. The MCMV ICP18.5 ORF is translated into a polypeptide of 798 amino acids with a calculated
molecular mass of 89.1 kDa. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the predicted proteins of MCMV with the
respective proteins of HCMV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) reveals a striking
homology ranging from 72% (HCMV), 50% (EBV), to 45% (HSV-1) for the MDBP sequence and from 74% (HCMV), 51 %
(EBV), to 49% (HSV-1) for the ICP18.5 sequence. These results establish the elose relationship of the two cytomegaloviruses,
and underline the usefulness of the murine model for studies on the biology of the CMV infection
Structural organization, expression, and functional characterization of the murine cytomegalovirus immediate-early gene 3.
No full textWe have previously defined ie3 as a coding region located downstream of the ie1 gene which gives rise to a 2.75-kb immediate-early (IE) transcript. Here we describe the structural organization of the ie3 gene, the amino acid sequence of the gene product, and some of the functional properties of the protein. The 2.75-kb ie3 mRNA is generated by splicing and is composed of four exons. The first three exons, of 300, 111, and 191 nucleotides (nt), are shared with the ie1 mRNA and are spliced to exon 5, which is located downstream of the fourth exon used by the ie1 mRNA. Exon 5 starts 28 nt downstream of the 3' end of the ie1 mRNA and has a length of 1,701 nt. The IE3 protein contains 611 amino acids, the first 99 of which are shared with the ie1 product pp89. The IE3 protein expressed at IE times has a relative mobility of 88 kDa in gels, and a mobility shift to 90 kDa during the early phase is indicative of posttranslational modification. Sequence comparison reveals significant homology of the exon 5-encoded amino acid sequence with the respective sequence of UL 122, a component of the IE1-IE2 complex of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). This homology is also apparent at the functional level. The IE3 protein is a strong transcriptional activator of the murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) e1 promoter and shows an autoregulatory function by repression of the MCMV ie1/ie3 promoter. The high degree of conservation between the MCMV ie3 and HCMV IE2 genes and their products with regard to gene structure, amino acid sequence, and protein functions suggests that these genes play a comparable role in the transcriptional control of the two cytomegaloviruses
An acidic region of the 89K murine cytomegalovirus immediate early protein interacts with DNA
No full textThe product of the ie 1 gene, the regulatory immediate early protein pp89 of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), interacts with core histones, which can mediate the association of pp89 with DNA. We report the capacity of pp89 to interact directly with DNA in the absence of cellular proteins. After separation of proteins by SDS–PAGe, pp89 bound ds- and ssDNA, with a preference for ssDNA. Binding to specific DNA sequences in the MCMV genome was not detected. The DNA-binding region of pp89 was located to amino acids 438 to 534 by analysis of deletion mutants expressed as -galactosidase or TrpE fusion proteins. This region is identical to the highly acidic C-terminal region spanning amino acids 424 to 532. The human cytomegalovirus IE1 protein, which contains a similar extended C-terminal acidic region, does not react with DNA under the same experimental conditions
Dr. Duane M. Jackson, Morehouse College, July 2011
No full textThis video is a conversation with Dr. Duane M. Jackson. Dr. Jackson talks about his paper, "Recall and the Serial Position Effect: The Role of Primacy and Recency on Accounting Students' Performance." Jackie Daniel, AUC Woodruff Library, is the interviewer
"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States" By M. Carey.
No full text"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States: containing bried sketches of the moral and political character of those states.
By M. Carey, member of the American philosophical, and of the American Antiquarian Society, and author of The Olive Branch, Cindiciae Hibernicae, essays on banking, on political economy, and on internal improvement.
To which are now added the English editor's comments on the subject; together with Important Advice to Emigrants, and Cautions Against Impositions Practiced in the Outports
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Dr. Glendon Swarthout
No full textHosted by Roger M. Busfield, MSU Assistant Professor of Speech and Theater, Meet the Author is designed to introduce a general audience to a contemporary author and their work through in-depth interviews. This episode features a conversation between Dr. Glendon Swarthout, prolific author and English professor at MSU, and assistant professors Sam S. Baskett and Theodore B. Strandness
An essential role of the enhancer for murine cytomegalovirus in vivo growth and pathogenesis
No full textThe transcription of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate-early (IE) genes is regulated by a large and complex enhancer containing an array of binding sites for a variety of cellular transcription factors. Previously, using bacterial artificial chromosome recombinants of the virus genome, it was reported that the enhancer region of murine CMV (MCMV) is dispensable but performs a key function for viral multiplication (A. Angulo, M. Messerle, U. H. Koszinowski, and P. Ghazal, J. Virol. 72:8502-8509, 1998). In the present study, we defined, through the reconstitution of infectious enhancerless MCMVs, the growth requirement for the enhancer in tissue culture and explored its significance for steering a productive infection in vivo. A comparison of cis and trans complementation systems for infection of enhancerless virus in permissive fibroblasts revealed a multiplicity-dependent growth phenotype that is severely compromised in the rate of infectious-virus multiplication. The in vivo impact of viruses that have an amputated enhancer was investigated in an extremely sensitive model of MCMV infection, the SCID mouse. Histological examination of spleens, livers, lungs, and salivary glands from animals infected with enhancer-deficient MCMV demonstrated an absence of tissue damage associated with CMV infection. The lack of pathogenic lesions correlated with a defect in replication competence. Enhancerless viruses were not detectable in major target organs harvested from SCID mice. The pathogenesis and growth defect reverted upon restoration of the enhancer. Markedly, while SCID mice infected with 5 PFU of parental MCMV died within 50 days postinfection, all mice infected with enhancerless virus survived for the duration of the experiment (1 year) after infection with 5 x 10(5) PFU. Together, these results clarify the importance of the enhancer for MCMV growth in cell culture and underscore the in vivo significance of this region for MCMV virulence and pathogenesis
Simulation of thermal plant optimization and hydraulic aspects of thermal distribution loops for large campuses
No full textFollowing an introduction, the author describes Texas A&M University and its utilities system. After that, the author presents how to construct simulation models for chilled water and heating hot water distribution systems. The simulation model was used in a $2.3 million Ross Street chilled water pipe replacement project at Texas A&M University. A second project conducted at the University of Texas at San Antonio was used as an example to demonstrate how to identify and design an optimal distribution system by using a simulation model. The author found that the minor losses of these closed loop thermal distribution systems are significantly higher than potable water distribution systems. In the second part of the report, the author presents the latest development of software called the Plant Optimization Program, which can simulate cogeneration plant operation, estimate its operation cost and provide optimized operation suggestions. The author also developed detailed simulation models for a gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator and identified significant potential savings. Finally, the author also used a steam turbine as an example to present a multi-regression method on constructing simulation models by using basic statistics and optimization algorithms. This report presents a survey of the author??s working experience at the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Texas A&M University during the period of January 2002 through March 2004. The purpose of the above work was to allow the author to become familiar with the practice of engineering. The result is that the author knows how to complete a project from start to finish and understands how both technical and nontechnical aspects of a project need to be considered in order to ensure a quality deliverable and bring a project to successful completion. This report concludes that the objectives of the internship were successfully accomplished and that the requirements for the degree of Degree of Engineering have been satisfied
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