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The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been used as a model organism for the molecular and genetic dissection of sleeping behaviors. However, most previous studies were based on qualitative or semi-quantitative characterizations. Here we quantified sleep in flies. We set up an assay to continuously track the activity of flies using infrared camera, which monitored the movement of tens of flies simultaneously with high spatial and temporal resolution. We obtained accurate statistics regarding the rest and sleep patterns of single flies. Analysis of our data has revealed a general pattern of rest and sleep: the rest statistics obeyed a power law distribution and the sleep statistics obeyed an exponential distribution. Thus, a resting fly would start to move again with a probability that decreased with the time it has rested, whereas a sleeping fly would wake up with a probability independent of how long it had slept. Resting transits to sleeping at time scales of minutes. Our method allows quantitative investigations of resting and sleeping behaviors and our results provide insights for mechanisms of falling into and waking up from sleep., Xu, et al. developed a quantitative method to characterize the sleep of flies by continuously tracking the fly activity. They find that the sleep state is distinguished from a short-rested state with an exponential distribution of sleep duration, which suggests a memoryless wakeup probability.

The cement industry is an industry that consumes a considerable quantity of resources and energy and has a very large influence on the efficient use of global resources and energy. In this study, exergetic life cycle assessment is performed for the cement production process, and the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of each system before and after waste heat power generation is investigated. The study indicates that, before carrying out a waste heat power generation project, the objective energy efficiencies of the raw material preparation system, pulverized coal preparation system and rotary kiln system are 39.4%, 10.8% and 50.2%, respectively, and the objective exergy efficiencies are 4.5%, 1.4% and 33.7%, respectively; after carrying out a waste heat power generation project, the objective energy efficiencies are 45.8%, 15.5% and 55.1%, respectively, and the objective exergy efficiencies are 7.8%, 2.8% and 38.1%, respectively. The waste heat power generation project can recover 3.7% of the total input exergy of a rotary kiln system and improve the objective exergy efficiencies of the above three systems. The study can identify degree of resource and energy utilization and the energy-saving effect of a waste heat power generation project on each system, and provide technical support for managers in the implementation of energy-saving schemes.

Phosphonoformate sodium (PFS) has been used as an anti-herpesvirus drug; nevertheless, studies of the use of PFS for treatment of pseudorabies herpesvirus (PrV) infection in the veterinary setting have not been widely reported.The present study aimed to analyze the inhibitory effect of PFS on cell infection and apoptosis induced by PrV.The infectivity of PrV was determined by plaque assays when PFS was applied to the virus, to the virus-infected cells, and to the cells prior to infection. PCR amplifying DNA polymerase, gE, gG, and gD genes of PrV was performed. PrV-induced cell apoptosis was analyzed by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry.PFS inhibits cell infection by PrV. Addition of the drug decreased the number of apoptotic cells. Amplification of DNA polymerase and other viral structural genes detected in this study by PCR was reduced, because there were fewer viral DNA copies being made in the presence of the drug. The drug has an inhibitory effect on cell apoptosis induced by PrV.PFS has inhibitory effects on cell infection by PrV, which may be used as an anti-PrV agent or combined with other anti-PrV agents. PrV-induced cell apoptotic cells and viral DNA copies decreased in the presence of the PFS.

Porcine aminopeptidase N (pAPN) is a cellular membrane protein and a functional receptor for porcine coronaviruses. Here, we describe the heterologous expression of pAPN without signal peptide in BL21(DE3)pLysS host cells. The Escherichia coli (E. coli) harboring the recombinant construct was efficiently induced to express the pAPN protein at a high level. The most optimal expression profile for pAPN expression was investigated. By inoculating a rabbit with the purified pAPN, a high tittered specific antibody was achieved. Biologically, the antibody reacted with either pAPN-expressing E. coli or native pAPN on the surface of swine testis cells. The pAPN and its specific antibody blocked transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus infection in vitro. Furthermore, the localization of pAPN on the small intestine of swine was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.

Pseudorabies herpesvirus (PrV) belongs to the Alphaherpesvirinae. Piglets infected with PrV die within a few days. Development of effective antiviral agents is one alternative or complementary method to prevent PrV infection. Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (Saururaceae), H. cordata, a traditional Chinese medicine, is often used to relieve lung abnormal symptoms, infectious disease, refractory hemoptysis and malignant pleural effusion in China.The present study aimed to investigate the effect of H. cordata injection on cell infection by PrV using Vero cells (a monkey kidney cell line) and swine testis cells (ST) as models.The infectivity of PrV was determined by plaque assays when H. cordata was applied to the virus, to the virus infected cells, and to the cells prior to infection. The genomic DNA copies post-drug treatment were confirmed by PCR and reverse transcription PCR. The cell apoptosis caused by the virus was analyzed.H. cordata efficiently inhibited cell infection after incubating the drug with PrV. Nevertheless, H. cordata was more efficient in Vero cells than in ST cells in terms of its inhibitory effect. Low-dosage drug inhibited cell apoptosis induced by PrV; nevertheless, high-dosage drug alone resulted in cell apoptosis.H. cordata has a direct inhibitory activity against PrV in vitro. H. cordata may be used as an anti-PrV agent or combined with other anti-PrV agents. PrV infection induces cell apoptosis and H. cordata inhibits cell infection. The optimal administration dosage of H. cordata should be taken into account in the future, because high-dosage H. cordata alone causes cell apoptosis.

The effects of glycyrrhizin diammonium (GD) and lithium chloride (LiCl) on cell infection by avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) were investigated using cytopathic effect observation, plaque-reduction assay and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The anti-viral effect of GD and LiCl on virus, on virus-infected cells or on cells pre-treated by both drugs was analysed, respectively. Our results showed that GD had a direct antiviral activity, leading to complete inhibition of cell infection. The cell infection was not alleviated by either pre-treatment of cells with GD or addition of the drug post infection, confirming that the inhibitory effect of GD, unlike LiCl, on IBV is a viral factor, rather than a cellular factor. The inhibitory effect of both drugs was confirmed by infecting primary chicken embryo kidney cells. In addition, apoptosis of infected cells was positively related with cytopathic effect and could be inhibited by effective drug treatment. Our data indicate that GD and LiCl have potential to prevent IBV infection in vitro through different antiviral mechanisms. The data are helpful for using antivirals efficiently.

Diammonium glycyrrhizin (DG), a salt from glycyrrhizinate (GL) that is a major active component of licorice root extract with various pharmacological activities was investigated for its inhibitory effect on pseudorabies virus (PrV) infection. In parallel, lithium chloride (LiCl), a chemical reagent with potential antiviral activity was compared with DG for their inhibitory ability against PrV infection in vitro. Virus plaque-reduction assays, PCR and RT-PCR analysis indicated that both drugs inhibited cell infection by PrV. Moreover, addition of the drugs resulted in fewer apoptotic cells during PrV infection.