Highlights d Cities possess a consistent ''core'' set of non-human microbes d Urban microbiomes echo important features of cities and city-life d Antimicrobial resistance genes are widespread in cities d Cities contain many novel bacterial and viral species

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Measles virus (MV) usually causes acute infection but in rare cases persists in the brain, resulting in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). Since human neurons, an important target affected in the disease, do not express the known MV receptors (signaling lymphocyte activation molecule [SLAM] and nectin 4), how MV infects neurons and spreads between them is unknown. Recent studies have shown that many virus strains isolated from SSPE patients possess substitutions in the extracellular domain of the fusion (F) protein which confer enhanced fusion activity. Hyperfusogenic viruses with such mutations, unlike the wild-type MV, can induce cell-cell fusion even in SLAM- and nectin 4-negative cells and spread efficiently in human primary neurons and the brains of animal models. We show here that a hyperfusogenic mutant MV, IC323-F(T461I)-EGFP (IC323 with a fusion-enhancing T461I substitution in the F protein and expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein), but not the wild-type MV, spreads in differentiated NT2 cells, a widely used human neuron model. Confocal time-lapse imaging revealed the cell-to-cell spread of IC323-F(T461I)-EGFP between NT2 neurons without syncytium formation. The production of virus particles was strongly suppressed in NT2 neurons, also supporting cell-to-cell viral transmission. The spread of IC323-F(T461I)-EGFP was inhibited by a fusion inhibitor peptide as well as by some but not all of the anti-hemagglutinin antibodies which neutralize SLAM- or nectin-4-dependent MV infection, suggesting the presence of a distinct neuronal receptor. Our results indicate that MV spreads in a cell-to-cell manner between human neurons without causing syncytium formation and that the spread is dependent on the hyperfusogenic F protein, the hemagglutinin, and the putative neuronal receptor for MV. Measles virus (MV), in rare cases, persists in the human central nervous system (CNS) and causes subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) several years after acute infection. This neurological complication is almost always fatal, and there is currently no effective treatment for it. Mechanisms by which MV invades the CNS and causes the disease remain to be elucidated. We have previously shown that fusion-enhancing substitutions in the fusion protein of MVs isolated from SSPE patients contribute to MV spread in neurons. In this study, we demonstrate that MV bearing the hyperfusogenic mutant fusion protein spreads between human neurons in a cell-to-cell manner. Spread of the virus was inhibited by a fusion inhibitor peptide and antibodies against the MV hemagglutinin, indicating that both the hemagglutinin and hyperfusogenic fusion protein play important roles in MV spread between human neurons. The findings help us better understand the disease process of SSPE.

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Higher power output by a lower kinetic resistance of the vanadium redox flow battery is needed for its commercialization. In this study, we focused on the air oxidation conditions of carbon paper, which is the electrode material, to reduce the kinetic resistance. The air oxidation is considered to affect the number of surface oxygen groups such as the phenol-type hydroxyl group due to oxidation of the carbon fiber. The surface oxygen groups may correspond to the active sites for the charge/discharge reaction. We quantitatively evaluated the number of surface oxygen groups by temperature-programmed desorption. In addition, we measured the double-layer capacitances of the carbon papers, which may reflect the surface area of the carbon fiber. The single-cell performances, i.e., current–voltage curves and charge–discharge profile, of the electrodes were studied. The air oxidized carbon paper, heat-treated at 500 °C for 3 h (8.4% mass decrease from the pristine sample), showed the highest power density (960 mW cm−2) in this study with thin electrode material (ca., 0.2 mm for one sheet). The negative half-reaction was enhanced by air oxidation. This result could be explained by the reduction of the kinetic resistance by increasing the number of phenol groups, and this power output was relatively high as the vanadium redox flow battery by using a commercial carbon paper and the standard flow field.

One of the challenges in underwater acoustic positioning is the occurrence of missing measurements and large errors in multipath environments, such as shallow water and harbor areas. In this paper, we propose a new underwater positioning method for multipath environments by using direct wave arrival time groups and database matching. The proposed method accurately measures baseline length from the impulse response of the underwater channel by calculating time window groups that cover the propagation time from the sound source to each hydrophone in advance and then extracting only the impulse response around the propagation time of the direct waves when the sound source exists in a certain region of the measurement space. The performance of the proposed method was experimentally evaluated in a static environment. The results showed that the proposed method achieved an accuracy of 0.03 m and a precision of 0.02 m in a test tank.

Electrical impedance spectroscopy is expected to use for quality estimation of agricultural product.In this study, changes in moisture content, porosity and electrical and mechanical properties of sweet potato heated in hot water at 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 8C were investigated. Additionally, the tissue structure was scanned by X-ray computerized tomography (CT). As a result, the porosity of the sample decreased with treatment time at every temperature while the moisture content changed at only 70 8C. This decrease in the porosity greatly affected the extracellular resistance and the elastic modulus. Moreover, the elastic modulus could be expressed by a logarithmic equation of the extracellular resistance with the high determination coefficient (R 2 5 0.91). Average CT values calculated from the scanned images of the tissue also indicated good correlations with porosity and elastic modulus. These results indicated that the extracellular resistance and the average CT value were effective for the estimation of elasticity as well as porosity. Practical applicationsSweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is one of the most popular vegetables in Japan with its highly nutritional value and sweet taste. It is widely used for processed foods and shochu (Japanese liquor). To make these products, sweet potato is heated by hot water immersion or steaming in the process lines. Because the processes have been mechanized, technological development which enables to estimate inner state of sweet potato during heating is required. This research investigated potential of electrical impedance spectroscopy and CT scanning as the quality estimation technique for heated sweet potato. The results presented here clarified relationships between electrical properties and other physical properties, and CT value and the properties. The knowledge will contribute to design a quality control system based on the automatically quality estimation. K E Y W O R D S computed tomography, electrical property, equivalent circuit analysis, impedance, mechanical property

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