IL-17 is a cytokine that induces neutrophil-mediated inflammation, but its role in protective immunity against intracellular bacterial infection remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrate ...that IL-17 is an important cytokine not only in the early neutrophil-mediated inflammatory response, but also in T cell-mediated IFN-gamma production and granuloma formation in response to pulmonary infection by Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG). IL-17 expression in the BCG-infected lung was detected from the first day after infection and the expression depended on IL-23. Our observations indicated that gammadelta T cells are a primary source of IL-17. Lung-infiltrating T cells of IL-17-deficient mice produced less IFN-gamma in comparison to those from wild-type mice 4 wk after BCG infection. Impaired granuloma formation was also observed in the infected lungs of IL-17-deficient mice, which is consistent with the decreased delayed-type hypersensitivity response of the infected mice against mycobacterial Ag. These data suggest that IL-17 is an important cytokine in the induction of optimal Th1 response and protective immunity against mycobacterial infection.
Objectives To evaluate and describe the anti-herpesvirus effect of ASP2151, amenamevir, a novel non-nucleoside oxadiazolylphenyl-containing herpesvirus helicase–primase complex inhibitor. Methods The ...inhibitory effect of ASP2151 on enzymatic activities associated with a recombinant HSV-1 helicase–primase complex was assessed. To investigate the effect on viral DNA replication, we analysed viral DNA in cells infected with herpesviruses herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella–zoster virus (VZV) and human cytomegalovirus. Sequencing analyses were conducted on an ASP2151-resistant VZV mutant. In vitro and in vivo antiviral activities were evaluated using a plaque reduction assay and an HSV-1-infected zosteriform-spread model in mice. Results ASP2151 inhibited the single-stranded DNA-dependent ATPase, helicase and primase activities associated with the HSV-1 helicase–primase complex. Antiviral assays revealed that ASP2151, unlike other known HSV helicase–primase inhibitors, exerts equipotent activity against VZV, HSV-1 and HSV-2 through prevention of viral DNA replication. Further, the anti-VZV activity of ASP2151 (EC50, 0.038–0.10 µM) was more potent against all strains tested than that of aciclovir (EC50, 1.3–27 µM). ASP2151 was also active against aciclovir-resistant VZV. Amino acid substitutions were found in helicase and primase subunits of ASP2151-resistant VZV. In a mouse zosteriform-spread model, ASP2151 was orally active and inhibited disease progression more potently than valaciclovir. Conclusions ASP2151 is a novel herpes helicase–primase inhibitor that warrants further investigation for the potential treatment of both VZV and HSV infections.
The magnetostructural correlation of the hexakis-dmso cobalt(ii) complex, Co(dmso)
(BPh
)
(dmso: dimethylsulfoxide), was investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study and magnetic ...measurements. The magnetic analysis concluded the negative Δ value (H = Δ(L - 2/3) + E(L - L) - (3/2)κλL·S + β-(3/2)κL
+ g
S
·H
(u = x, y, z)), and this was explained by the tetragonal elongation of the octahedral geometry. The magnetostructural correlation was ascertained by both the angular overlap model calculation and the density functional theory calculation.
Esophageal fistula is a critical adverse event in patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced esophageal cancer. However, risk factors associated with esophageal fistula ...formation in patients receiving CRT have not yet been elucidated.We retrospectively analyzed data obtained from 140 patients who were enrolled in a phase II/III trial comparing low-dose cisplatin with standard-dose cisplatin administered in combination with 5-flurouracil and concomitant radiotherapy. Inclusion criteria were performance status (PS) 0 to 2 and histologically proven thoracic esophageal cancer clinically diagnosed as T4 and/or unresectable lymph node metastasis for which definitive CRT was applicable. Risk factors for esophageal fistula were examined with univariate analysis using Fisher exact test and multivariate analysis using logistic regression models.Esophageal fistula was observed in 31 patients (22%). Of these, 6 patients developed fistula during CRT. Median time interval between the date of CRT initiation and that of fistula diagnosis was 100 days (inter quartile range, 45-171). Esophageal stenosis was the only significant risk factor for esophageal fistula formation both in univariate (P = 0.026) and in multivariate analyses (odds ratio, 2.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-5.92, P = 0.025). Other clinicopathological factors, namely treatment arm, age, sex, PS, primary tumor location, T stage, lymph node invasion to adjacent organs, blood cell count, albumin level, and body mass index, were not risk factors fistula formation.Esophageal stenosis was a significant risk factor for esophageal fistula formation in patients treated with CRT for unresectable locally advanced thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Software watermarking enables one to embed some information called “mark” into a program while preserving its functionality, and to read it from the program. As a definition of function preserving, ...Cohen et al. (STOC 2016) proposed statistical function preserving which requires that the input/ output behavior of the marked circuit is identical almost everywhere to that of the original unmarked circuit. They showed how to construct watermarkable cryptographic primitives with statistical function preserving, including pseudorandom functions (PRFs) and public-key encryption from indistinguishability obfuscation. Recently, Goyal et al. (CRYPTO 2019) introduced more relaxed definition of function preserving for watermarkable signature. Watermarkable signature embeds a mark into a signing circuit of digital signature. The relaxed function preserving only requires that the marked signing circuit outputs valid signatures. They provide watermarkable signature with the relaxed function preserving only based on (standard) digital signature. In this work, we introduce an intermediate notion of function preserving for watermarkable signature, which is called computational function preserving. Then, we examine the relationship among our computational function preserving, relaxed function preserving by Goyal et al. , and statistical function preserving by Cohen et al. Furthermore, we propose a generic construction of watermarkable signature scheme satisfying computational function preserving based on public key encryption and (standard) digital signature.
Watermarkable Signature with Computational Function Preserving SUDO, Kyohei; HARA, Keisuke; TEZUKA, Masayuki ...
IEICE Transactions on Fundamentals of Electronics, Communications and Computer Sciences,
09/2021, Letnik:
E104.A, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Software watermarking enables one to embed some information called “mark” into a program while preserving its functionality, and to read it from the program. As a definition of function preserving, ...Cohen et al. (STOC 2016) proposed statistical function preserving which requires that the input/output behavior of the marked circuit is identical almost everywhere to that of the original unmarked circuit. They showed how to construct watermarkable cryptographic primitives with statistical function preserving, including pseudorandom functions (PRFs) and public-key encryption from indistinguishability obfuscation. Recently, Goyal et al. (CRYPTO 2019) introduced more relaxed definition of function preserving for watermarkable signature. Watermarkable signature embeds a mark into a signing circuit of digital signature. The relaxed function preserving only requires that the marked signing circuit outputs valid signatures. They provide watermarkable signature with the relaxed function preserving only based on (standard) digital signature. In this work, we introduce an intermediate notion of function preserving for watermarkable signature, which is called computational function preserving. Then, we examine the relationship among our computational function preserving, relaxed function preserving by Goyal et al., and statistical function preserving by Cohen et al. Furthermore, we propose a generic construction of watermarkable signature scheme satisfying computational function preserving based on public key encryption and (standard) digital signature.
We present the results from a global 0.56°‐resolution chemical data assimilation that integrates satellite observations of ozone, NO2, CO, HNO3, and SO2 from OMI, GOME‐2, SCIAMACHY, TES, MOPITT, and ...MLS. The assimilation is based on an ensemble Kalman filter technique and simultaneously optimizes ozone precursor emissions and concentrations of various species. The data assimilation at 0.56° resolution reduced model errors against independent surface, aircraft, and ozonesonde observations, which was larger than at coarser resolutions for many cases. By the data assimilation, surface model errors over major polluted regions were reduced by 33%–75% for NO2 and by 15%–18% for ozone. Agreements against assimilated observations for NO2 were improved using the data assimilation at 0.56° resolution by a factor of 1.5–3 compared to 2.8° resolution over major polluted regions. The estimated global total NOx emission over medium and strong source areas were smaller by 15% at 0.56° resolution than at 2.8° resolution associated with resolving small‐scale transport and chemistry processes, while 2%–26% smaller emissions were found for regional total emissions over Europe, the United States, China, India, and South Africa, with larger differences over megacities such as Los Angeles (−41%). The estimated ship emissions were 5%–7% smaller at 0.56° resolution over the Pacific and Atlantic. The 0.56°‐resolution data assimilation provides globally consistent analyses of the emissions and concentrations on a megacity scale, which benefit studies on air quality and its impact on human health at various spatial scales over different regions of the world.
Plain Language Summary
Air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ozone are important for air quality and climate change. This study demonstrates that global 0.56°‐resolution data assimilation of multiple chemical species from multiple satellites can improve chemical concentrations of numerous key species including NO2 and ozone, which was better than that at coarser resolutions. With the 0.56°‐resolution data assimilation, improved agreements with independent surface, ozonesonde, and aircraft observations were obtained for many cases than at coarser resolutions. Over polluted areas, increasing horizontal resolution substantially impacts upon top‐down NOx emission estimates associated with nonlinear atmospheric transport and chemical processes. The globally consistent analyses of emissions and concentrations on a megacity scale obtained from the 0.56°‐resolution data assimilation would benefit studies on air quality and its impact on human health at various spatial scales over different regions of the world.
Key Points
Global 0.56°‐resolution data assimilation system was developed to integrate satellite observations of ozone, NO2, CO, HNO3, and SO2
The developed framework provides globally consistent analyses of emissions and concentrations on a megacity scale
The data assimilation at 0.56°‐resolution reduced errors against independent observations, which was larger than at lower resolutions
This paper proposes an online adaptation method for Fourier series based acoustic transfer function (TF) models for robot audition systems based on microphone array signal processing. The TF ...represents the signal propagation characteristics from a sound source to a microphone, which is an essential component for real-world auditory scene analysis, including sound source localization and separation. The real-world applications of TF-based array signal processing requires two characteristics: 1) adaptability to changes in the acoustic environment (changes in the signal propagation characteristics between the sound source and the microphone), and 2) a lightweight TF set for use in embedded systems such as robots with limited memory and computational resources. This paper proposes an online adaptation method for lightweight TF models using the Fourier series expansion. This method has both above two characteristics. Experimental results showed that the use of TF set adapted online using the proposed method performs better sound source localization and separation performance than existing online TF adaptation methods.
Proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma is an aggressive malignant soft-tissue neoplasm, a “proximal” variant of epithelioid sarcoma, resistant to multimodal therapy and involved in early tumor-related ...death. Pertinent treatments are, therefore, continually being explored. A 24-year-old woman with nonmetastatic proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma, originating subcutaneously on the right side of the vulva, underwent surgical resection; the lesion recurred, however, leading to death 3 months after the second surgery. Here described is a case of proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma expressing L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) that transports essential amino acids and p-borono-L-phenylalanine (BPA)—the chemical compound used in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)—and is highly expressed in many malignant tumors. Recently, LAT1 has drawn attention, and relevant treatments have been studied—LAT1 inhibitor and BNCT. LAT1 expression in proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma may lead to cogent treatments for the disease.
PDF
