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Increasing evidence suggests that HIV-1 Vpr is required in vivo for viral pathogenesis. Since Vpr displays multiple activities, little is known about which Vpr-specific activities are conserved in naturally occurring viruses or how natural mutations in Vpr might modulate viral pathogenesis in HIV-infected individuals. The goals of this study were to evaluate the functional variability of Vpr in naturally occurring viruses. The Vpr-specific activities of nuclear localization, induction of cell cycle G2 arrest and cell death were compared between viruses isolated from the fast progressing AIDS patients and a mother–child pair of long-term non-progressors (LTNPs). Wild-type Vpr activities were found in all of the viruses that were isolated from the fast progressing AIDS patients except for the truncated VprIIIB which lacked these activities. In contrast, defective Vpr were readily detected in viral populations isolated, over an 11-year period, from the mother–child pair. Sequence analyses indicated that these Vpr carried unique amino acid substitutions that frequently interrupted a highly conserved domain containing an N-terminal α-helix-turn-α-helix. Thus, Vpr activities are generally conserved in naturally occurring viruses. The functionally defective Vpr identified in the mother–child pair of LTNPs are likely to be unique and may possibly contribute to the slow disease progression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• A systematic quantitative description and evaluation of the etch morphology of acid rocks has been performed. The fracture morphology of acid etchings has been quantitatively evaluated under various experimental conditions such as fracture width, temperature, acid fluid consumption, displacement, and different acid fracture processes and their laws affecting fracture conductivity. • The fracture conductivity was compared and analyzed for different property placement conditions under the acid sand carrying technique, and the main effect of the acid etch fracture conductivity was identified. Stimulation technology is the key to efficient development of deep low-permeability carbonate reservoirs. For such reservoirs, where the porosity and permeability are low, or where the reservoir is far from the borehole. An efficient production increase can only be achieved by using a deep percolation gelling acid fracture technique, maximizing the length of the acid etched fracture to expand the percolation area, and improving the conductivity of the acid etched fracture. A quantitative experimental study of the conductivity of acid etch fracture based on an acid rock tiling instrument, a 3D laser scanner, and an acid etch fracture conductivity evaluation device identified three typical supporting morphologies of gelling acid etch fracture walls: spot, line, and sheet. A systematic quantitative description and evaluation of the etch morphology of rocks etched by acid has been performed. The fracture morphology of acid etchings has been quantitatively evaluated under various experimental conditions such as fracture width, temperature, acid fluid consumption, displacement, and different acid fracture processes and their laws affecting fracture conductivity. The conductivity of acid corrosion fracture increases with the decrease of fracture width, and decreases with the increase of closure stress. The greater the amount of acid used, the higher the fracture conductivity; With the increase of flow Reynolds number, the conductivity of acid corrosion fracture shows a trend of increasing first and then decreasing. The fracture conductivity was compared and analyzed for different property placement conditions under the acid sand carrying technique, and the main effect of the acid etch fracture conductivity was identified. Optimization of high conductivity and deep penetration gelling acid fracturing techniques can help guide the design of acid fracturing and improve stimulation and recovery effects, thus achieving the goal of efficient development of deep, low permeability carbonate reservoirs to increase reserves and production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based sensor for detecting thiols in aqueous solution has been developed. Due to the weak N···Au interactions, meso -(4-pyridinyl)-substituted BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) dyes were coordinated to AuNP surfaces, which effectively quenched the fluorescence of organic/inorganic hybrid systems. The fluorescent quenching mechanism was mainly ascribed to the highly efficient fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) and the inner filter effect. In the presence of thiols, meso -(4-pyridinyl)-substituted BODIPY chromophore were displaced and released from the AuNP surfaces and thus restored the fluorescence of BODIPY chromophore. The modulation of the fluorescence quenching efficiency of BODIPY–AuNPs in the presence of thiols can achieve a large turn-on fluorescence enhancement (40-fold) in aqueous solution. The new AuNP-based fluorescence sensor displayed desired properties such as high specificity, relatively low detection limit (30 nM for Cys), appreciable water solubility and rapid response time (within 2 min for Cys/Hcy). Moreover, the sensor has been successfully applied for monitoring and imaging of intracellular thiols within living HeLa cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]