Design of Compact Dual Notched Self-Complementary UWB Antenna

In this paper, a novel double notched UWB antenna is introduced. The proposed antenna is Quasi Self-Complementary (QSC) with wide impedance bandwidth from 2.2 GHz to more than 12 GHz. The antenna consists of semi-ring with rectangular tapered section for more matching and it is designed on FR-4 substrate with thickness 1.5 mm and has compact size of 11.5 × 14.5 × 1.5 mm3. The dual notched bands are achieved by using a T-shaped slit etched in the radiating patch to reject interference with WIMAX band and two C-shaped are placed close to the microstrip feed line to reject the interference with the WLAN band. The proposed antenna is designed, simulated and measured. All simulation results are performed using the CST software. Good agreement is presented between the experimental and the simulated results.

Self-complementary Cayley Graphs of Extraspecial p-groups

This paper constructs several families of self-complementary Cayley graphs of extraspecial p-groups,where p is a prime and congruent to 1 modulo 4.

Evaluation of trabecular meshwork-specific promoters in vitro and in vivo using scAAV2 vectors expressing C3 transferase

AIM:To evaluate the potential of two trabecular meshwork(TM)-specific promoters,Chitinase 3-like 1(Ch3L1)and matrix gla protein(MGP),for improving specificity and safety in glaucoma gene therapy based on self-complementary AAV2(scAAV2)vector technologies.METHODS:An scAAV2 vector with C3 transferase(C3)as the reporter gene(scAAV2-C3)was selected.The scAAV2-C3 vectors were driven by Ch3L1(scAAV2-Ch3L1-C3),MGP(scAAV2-MGP-C3),enhanced MGP(scAAV2-eMGP-C3)and cytomegalovirus(scAAV2-CMV-C3),respectively.The cultured primary human TM cells were treated with each vector at different multiplicities of infections.Changes in cell morphology were observed by phase contrast microscopy.Actin stress fibers and Rho GTPases/Rho-associated protein kinase pathway-related molecules were assessed by immunofluorescence staining,real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot.Each vector was injected intracamerally into the one eye of each rat at low and high doses respectively.In vivo green fluorescence was visualized by a Micron III Retinal Imaging Microscope.Intraocular pressure(IOP)was monitored using a rebound tonometer.Ocular responses were evaluated by slit-lamp microscopy.Ocular histopathology analysis was examined by hematoxylin and eosin staining.RESULTS:In TM cell culture studies,the vectormediated C3 expression induced morphologic changes,disruption of actin cytoskeleton and reduction of fibronectin expression in TM cells by inhibiting the Rho GTPases/Rhoassociated protein kinase signaling pathway.At the same dose,these changes were significant in TM cells treated with scAAV2-CMV-C3 or scAAV2-Ch3L1-C3,but not in cells treated with scAAV2-eMGP-C3 or scAAV2-MGP-C3.At lowinjected dose,the IOP was significantly decreased in the scAAV2-Ch3L1-C3-injected eyes but not in scAAV2-MGPC3-injected and scAAV2-eMGP-C3-injected eyes.At highinjected dose,significant IOP reduction was observed in the scAAV2-eMGP-C3-injected eyes but not in scAAV2-MGP-C3-injected eyes.Similar to scAAV2-CMV-C3,scAAV2-Ch3L1-C3 vector showed efficient transduction both in the TM and corneal endothelium.In anterior segment tissues of scAAV2-eMGP-C3-injected eyes,no obvious morphological changes were found except for the TM.Inflammation was absent.CONCLUSION:In scAAV2-transduced TM cells,the promoter-driven efficiency of Ch3L1 is close to that of cytomegalovirus,but obviously higher than that of MGP.In the anterior chamber of rat eye,the transgene expression pattern of scAAV2 vector is presumably affected by MGP promoter,but not by Ch3L1 promoter.These findings would provide a useful reference for improvement of specificity and safety in glaucoma gene therapy using scAAV2 vector.

On Conjugation Partitions of Sets of Trinucleotides

We prove that a trinucleotide circular code is self-complementary if and only if its two conjugated classes are complement of each other. Using only this proposition, we prove that if a circular code is self-complementary then either both its two conjugated classes are circular codes or none is a circular code.

Constructing and packaging scAAV vectors and detecting their transduction efficiency

Gene therapy is a form of molecular medicine that promises to provide new treatments for a large number of inherited and acquired diseases. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to successful widespread application of genetic treatments is the development of safe and effective vectors with which to ferry genetic material into cells. Adeno-associated virus （AAV）, a nonpathogenic human parvovirus, has gained attention as a potentially safe vector for gene transfer and gene therapy. The AAV genome is a single-stranded DNA, which is transcriptionally inactive. It has been reported that viral second-strand DNA synthesis is the rate-limiting step in AAV-mediated transgene expression. Self-complementary adeno-associated viral（scAAV） vectors bypass the requirement for viral second-strand DNA synthesis, and lead to a significant increase in transduction efficiency, scAAV vectors have been successfully constructed by Xiao and Smulski in the USA in 2003. Recently, we have developed and packaged scAAV, and reported as following.