The A5 gene of alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 encodes a constitutively active G-protei n-coupled receptor that is non-essential for the induction of malignant catarrhal fever in rabbits

in Journal of General Virology (2007), 88(Pt 12), 3224-3233

Many gammaherpesviruses encode G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Several in vivo studies have revealed that gammaherpesvirus GPCRs are important for viral replication and for virus-induced pathogenesis ... [more ▼]

Many gammaherpesviruses encode G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Several in vivo studies have revealed that gammaherpesvirus GPCRs are important for viral replication and for virus-induced pathogenesis. The gammaherpesvirus alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) is carried asymptomatically by wildebeest, but causes malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) following cross-species transmission to a variety of susceptible species. The A5 ORF of the AlHV-1 genome encodes a putative GPCR. In the present study, we investigated whether A5 encodes a functional GPCR and addressed its role in viral replication and in the pathogenesis of MCF. In silico analysis supported the hypothesis that A5 could encode a functional GPCR as its expression product contained several hallmark features of GPCRs. Expression of A5 as tagged proteins in various cell lines revealed that A5 localizes in cell membranes, including the plasma membrane. Using [35S]GTPgammaS and reporter gene assays, we found that A5 is able to constitutively couple to alpha i-type G-proteins in transfected cells, and that this interaction is able to inhibit forskolin-triggered cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) activation. Finally, using an AlHV-1 BAC clone, we produced a strain deleted for A5 and a revertant strain. Interestingly, the strain deleted for A5 replicated comparably to the wild-type parental strain and induced MCF in rabbits that was indistinguishable from that of the parental strain. The present study is the first to investigate the role of an individual gene of AlHV-1 in MCF pathogenesis. [less ▲]

'Aangewaaid uit een vreemd land': de westerse poëzie van G.J. Resink

in Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde (2003), 119(4), 279-299

This article examines the critical response to the poetry of G.J. (Han) Resink (1911-1997), a Dutch-language poet and scholar who adopted the Indonesian nationality in 1950. In the past, commentators have ... [more ▼]

This article examines the critical response to the poetry of G.J. (Han) Resink (1911-1997), a Dutch-language poet and scholar who adopted the Indonesian nationality in 1950. In the past, commentators have very much focused on what they perceive to be 'eastern' elements in Resink's oeuvre. I maintain that this has resulted in a one-sided interpretation, neglecting the underlying western, and in particular Dutch, tradition in many of Resink's poems. This article demonstrates the different ways in which Resink drew on the principles and literary output of the Eighties Movement, and how his formal experiments gain in significance when set against the work of poets like Perk, Kloos, and Dèr Mouw. The general view on Resink's later work as being inferior to his earlier poetry is shown to be the result of unwarranted preconceptions. [less ▲]

De aansprakelijkheid van internetproviders

Master's dissertation (2004)

The Aarhus Convention at Ten – Interactions and Tensions between Conventional International Law and EU Environmental Law

in Pallemaerts, Marc (Ed.) Implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Belgium – Some Elements (2011)

AAV2 vectors mediate efficient and sustained transduction of rat embryonic ventral mesencephalon

in Neuroreport (2002), 13(12), 1503-1507

The success of transplantation of human embryonic mesencephalic tissue to treat parkinsonian patients is limited by the poor survival of the transplant. We show that an AAV2 vector mediates efficient ... [more ▼]

The success of transplantation of human embryonic mesencephalic tissue to treat parkinsonian patients is limited by the poor survival of the transplant. We show that an AAV2 vector mediates efficient expression of the egfp reporter gene in organotypic cultures of freshly explanted solid fragments of rat embryonic ventral mesencephalon (VM). We observed early and sustained transgene expression (4 days to greater than or equal to 6 weeks). Furthermore, rAAV-infected rat embryonic VM transplanted in the adult striatum continued to express EGFP for greater than or equal to 3 months. More than 95% of the transduced cells were neurons. Dopaminergic neurons were transduced at low frequency at earlier time points. This method of gene delivery could prove useful to achieve local, continuous secretion of neurotrophic factors at physiologically relevant doses to treat Parkinson's disease. [less ▲]

Ab initio calculation of spin-dependent electron-phonon coupling and transport in iron and cobalt

in Journal of Physics : Condensed Matter (2013), 25

The spin-dependent coupling between electrons and phonons in ferromagnetic Fe and Co is calculated from first principles in a collinear-spin formalism. The added spin polarization is fundamental for the ... [more ▼]

The spin-dependent coupling between electrons and phonons in ferromagnetic Fe and Co is calculated from first principles in a collinear-spin formalism. The added spin polarization is fundamental for the correct representation of the phonons, but also to obtain good transport properties, and permits the decomposition (e.g. of the resistivity) into the contributions of majority and minority spin. In Fe the minority spin coupling is only about 50\% more important, but in Co the coupling between phonons and minority spin electrons is an order of magnitude larger than majority, and both are strongly anisotropic. [less ▲]

Ab Initio Calculation of the Polarizability and Hyperpolarizabilities of Infinite Periodic Polymers by the Sum-Over-States Method

in Heeger, A. J.; Orenstein, J.; Ulrich, D. R. (Eds.) Proceedings 1987 Materials Society Symposium (1988)

Ab initio phonon dispersion curves and interatomic force constants of barium titanate

in Ferroelectrics (1998), 206(1-4), 205-217

The phonon dispersion curves of cubic BaTiO3 have been computed within a first-principles approach and the results compared to the experimental data. The curves obtained are very similar to those reported ... [more ▼]

The phonon dispersion curves of cubic BaTiO3 have been computed within a first-principles approach and the results compared to the experimental data. The curves obtained are very similar to those reported for KNbO3 by Yu and Krakauer (Phys. Rev. Lett., 74, 4067 (1995)). They reveal that correlated atomic displacements along [100] chains are at the origin of the ferroelectric instability. A simplified model illustrates that spontaneous collective displacements will occur when a dozen of aligned atoms are coupled. The longitudinal interatomic force constant between nearest neighbour Ti and O atoms is relatively weak in comparison to that between Ti atoms in adjacent cells. The small coupling between Ti and O displacements seems however necessary to reproduce a linear ferroelectric instability. [less ▲]

Ab initio study of metal/ferroelectric and insulator/ferroelectric heterostructures

in AIP Conference Proceedings (2002), 626

We report first-principles calculations on the structural properties of SrRuO 3/BaTiO3 (metal/ferroelectric) and BaO/BaTiO3 (insulator/ferroelectric) heterostructures, both of them paradigmatic systems ... [more ▼]

We report first-principles calculations on the structural properties of SrRuO 3/BaTiO3 (metal/ferroelectric) and BaO/BaTiO3 (insulator/ferroelectric) heterostructures, both of them paradigmatic systems for experimental measurements. Using a density-functional pseudopotential plane-wave method, as implemented in the ABINIT package, we have studied the changes in the interlayer spacing and the atomic rumpling. The substrates are explicitly considered in our simulations, so the lateral stress on the BaTiO3 thin films and mechanical boundary conditions are automatically taken into account. For the SrRuO3/BaTiO3 interface short-circuit boundary conditions are imposed. Results on free-standing BaTiO3 surfaces are also reported, showing good agreement with previous works. The ground state for all the structures studied here is paraelectric. [less ▲]

Ab initio study of organic mixed valency

in International Journal of Quantum Chemistry (2000), 76(4), 552-573

A series of six radical cations of the type (D-L-B)(+) was investigated at the ab initio unrestricted Hartree-Fock level. One localized and one delocalized conformation were systematically searched by ... [more ▼]

A series of six radical cations of the type (D-L-B)(+) was investigated at the ab initio unrestricted Hartree-Fock level. One localized and one delocalized conformation were systematically searched by full geometry optimization At both nuclear arrangements, mostly found as being minima in the symmetry-restrained Hartree-Fock framework, excitation energies were calculated through the expansion of the wave function on single electronic excitations of the Hart ee-Fock fundamental determinant and at the unrestricted Hartree-Fock or at the multiconfigurational self consistent field levels. Few calculations were also performed by taking into account some part of the electronic correlation. Except for N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl p-phenylenediamine, all the studied compounds are localized stable cations, at the symmetry-restrained Hartree-Fock level. However, the reoptimization of their wave function changes this observation since only three of them seem to conserve a localized stable conformation. Most of the studied systems are characterized by one or two excited electronic states very dose to the fundamental one and should thus present an unresolved broadened first absorption band in the near-infrared region These features are in agreement with the available experimental data. Strong Hartree-Fock instabilities are found for the delocalized structure and put in relation with the existence of the large nonadiabatic coupling in this conformational region. The solvent influence is discussed in the Onsager dipolar reaction field framework. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [less ▲]