For live attenuated strains containing other disabling

mu

For live attenuated strains containing other disabling

mutations, sustaining colonisation by inclusion of capsule may be a strategy to enhance the immunogenicity of the non-capsular antigens present in the strain and induce protection against invasive disease. The authors are grateful to the staff at the UCL Biological Services Unit for assistance with animal maintenance. This work was undertaken at UCLH/UCL who received a proportion of funding from the Department of Health’s NIHR Biomedical Research BYL719 mw Centre’s funding scheme. JMC was supported by a Clinical Research Training Fellowship from the Medical Research Council (G0700829). “
“The authors regret that there was an error in their paper. The primers reported for cloning the DR2 domain of H. somni IbpA were not Trichostatin A ic50 correct. The error was present in the original data. The correct forward and reverse primers used for IbpA DR2 (p. 4507) are as follows: 5′-AGCTCCATGGGAAAATCATCTCCGCAAGAG-3′; 5′-AGCTGGATCCTGATTTTTTTGCCAACTCTTTTAAA-3′. These primers were published in a later paper

by Geertsema RS, Zekarias B, La Franco Scheuch L, Worby C, Russo R, Gershwin LJ, Herdman DS, Lo K, Corbeil LB. IbpA DR2 subunit immunization protects calves against Histophilus somni pneumonia. Vaccine 2011;29:4805–12. “
“The authors wish to update the corresponding author’s contact email to: [email protected]. “
“TB remains one of the world’s most serious infectious diseases and is responsible for more than 2 million deaths each year [1]. The only available vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG), confers some protection against disseminated TB in childhood but is largely ineffective at protecting against adult pulmonary disease [2]. Thus, a more effective TB vaccine is urgently needed. New vaccines for TB are assessed on measures

including safety, the ability to confer Rolziracetam protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) challenge in preclinical animal models, and the ability to induce an antigen specific IFN-γ immune response. Although there is no immune correlate of protection for TB, impairment of IFN-γ and IL-12 signalling in humans is associated with susceptibility to mycobacterial disease and the measurement of antigen specific IFN-γ remains the primary immune outcome in Phase I testing of new TB vaccine candidates [3]. We have previously reported that recombinant Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) expressing antigen 85A from MTB (MVA85A) is well-tolerated and enhances the frequency of antigen-specific IFN-γ producing T cells in adults, children and infants previously vaccinated with BCG [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9] and [10]. We have also shown that antigen specific T cells induced by MVA85A are highly polyfunctional, and can express IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, MIP1-β and IL-17 [11] and [12]. However, to date we have not performed any dose-finding studies in UK adults.

A major collaborative, international, randomised controlled trial

A major collaborative, international, randomised controlled trial is now underway, led by Julie Bernhardt (AVERT Trial, ACTRN12606000185561). This trial has recruited over 1700 participants and will make a substantial contribution to informing management of people following stroke. As it moves into its third decade, Cochrane has affirmed its vision of a world with improved health, where decisions about health care are

informed by high-quality, relevant and up-to-date synthesised research evidence. A new strategic plan, Strategy to 2020, includes goals that respond to current challenges in evidence synthesis and use. Cochrane will continue its emphasis on producing systematic reviews and other synthesised research evidence, but will increase focus on making Cochrane evidence accessible, both in terms of moving to an open access model of publishing and improving Autophagy Compound Library the usability of Cochrane reviews. In pursuit of these aims, Cochrane has recently embarked on a massive translation effort. Abstracts and plain language summaries of Cochrane reviews are now available in French, Spanish and Chinese, and there are plans to extend this to the other WHO official languages – Arabic and Russian. Cochrane has always played a role in advocating for evidence-based health care, and it plans to step up its activities in this area by becoming the ‘home of evidence’ to inform health

decision-making, and building greater recognition of its role and impact. These ambitious goals will require ongoing collaborative effort across Cell press disciplines and regions. Cochrane will continue to rely on the www.selleckchem.com/products/PLX-4032.html contributions of review authors and users of evidence. Involvement in Cochrane’s work, whether through authoring a review or by basing treatment decisions, professional development and advocacy on Cochrane evidence, represents opportunities for physiotherapy to grow the evidence base that underpins our profession, and enables us to share a vision of better health

and healthcare. For more information about becoming involved in Cochrane, see www.cochrane.org Acknowledgements: Cathie Sherrington, Julie Bernhardt. Correspondence: Professor Sally Green, Australasian Cochrane Centre, School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Email: [email protected]
“Whiplash-associated disorders’ (WAD) is the term given to the variety of symptoms often reported by people following acceleration/deceleration injury to the neck, most commonly via a road traffic crash. The cardinal symptom is neck pain but neck stiffness, dizziness, paraesthesia/anaesthesia in the upper quadrant, headache and arm pain are also commonly reported. The neck-related pain is associated with disability, decreased quality of life, and psychological distress. Due to WAD often being a compensable injury, it is a controversial condition, with some still denying it as a legitimate condition.

In the United Kingdom, 97% of intensive care units provide 24-hou

In the United Kingdom, 97% of intensive care units provide 24-hour access to physiotherapy,2 and in Canada, 97% of intensive care units have weekend physiotherapy services.3 A recent Australian CHIR-99021 mouse survey found that 80% of acute wards provided physiotherapy on a Saturday.4 Also, physiotherapists working in private practice, often with a focus on treating musculoskeletal problems, have

long provided, at least in Australia, services outside of business hours including weekends. Although we were not able to locate data about the extent of the out-of-hours services provided by private practitioners, information about the number of hours worked by physiotherapists in excess of 40 hours a week suggests that these services may be widespread.5 In other areas of physiotherapy practice, out-of-hours services are either much reduced or absent. ON-01910 concentration For example, only 30% of rehabilitation services in Australia,4 and approximately 69% of community hospitals in Canada,6 provide physiotherapy services at weekends. Although 97% of tertiary care hospitals in Canada provide physiotherapy services at weekends, the service is 88% less than during the week, suggesting that only a skeleton staff is employed to address the most urgent cases.3 Furthermore, in some centres, night rosters are covered by the most junior staff, who have the least experience at dealing with unexpected

or complex changes in a patient’s clinical Phosphatidylinositol diacylglycerol-lyase condition. The case for advocating increased out-of-hours physiotherapy services would be more compelling if its provision was supported by evidence. Such evidence is starting to emerge. A randomised controlled trial from Australia,

for example, found that the provision of additional Saturday physiotherapy and occupational therapy helped adults receiving inpatient rehabilitation to get better quicker, with benefits in functional independence and health-related quality of life sustained at 6 months after discharge.7 A recent study with comparison to a historical control also found that implementing a multidisciplinary rehabilitation service on a Saturday in Australia improved functional independence.8 A retrospective study in the United States found that a 7-day rehabilitation service including physiotherapy reduced length of stay by 1 day, compared to a 5-day service.9 Studies have also reported a reduction in pulmonary complications for patients with acute spinal injury,10 and the elderly after surgery,11 in an intensive care unit with additional out-of-hours physiotherapy. In other areas of practice, however, the evidence for out-of-hours physiotherapy services is, to date, less convincing. A retrospective study found that introducing a 7-day service after lower-limb joint replacement in an Australian regional hospital did not decrease hospital length of stay.

2) As shown in Fig 2, the absorbance intensity attained for eac

2). As shown in Fig. 2, the absorbance intensity attained for each method was very similar, irrespective of the specific PHS method employed. This observation suggests that the extent of reaction selleck chemicals in each microwell was comparable. The Masuko method was expected to yield higher absorbance values due to a rearrangement of the reagent addition sequence but these signal increases were not realized

[26]. Therefore it appears that previously observed sulphonated phenol-mediated attenuation was either consistent or insignificant. The precision of the reported PHS procedures differed significantly. Across the 17–500 μg/mL, the mean relative standard deviation (RSD) for the Saha, optimized PHS, and Masuko assay were 6%, 10%, and 22%, respectively. While the Saha method exhibited the best precision, it required the most material (i.e. 0.5 mL). The decreased reproducibility of the Masuko method may be due to increased sensitivity

to unintended variability in the time lapsed from sulphuric acid addition (i.e. the heat generation step) to the addition of phenol. In this work, the order of addition was found to be important with better precision observed when the heat generation step was the final step, presumably leading to a more uniform reaction temperature. A consistent reaction was trans-isomer chemical structure generated by careful consideration of the factors affecting the temperature of reaction. In contrast to the method described here, which uses a polystyrene microtitre plate, a reduced signal was observed when the glass microplate was used (). This attenuated signal is likely due to the higher thermal

conductivity and specific oxyclozanide heat of borosilicate glass as well as the greater volume of material contained in the glass microplate relative to the polystyrene microplate. These factors presumably prevent the solution from attaining the high temperature required for robust reaction. The testing with glucose established that the modified PHS assay had satisfactory accuracy and precision. This method was comparable to the method of Saha et al. and was characterized by superior precision to the method of Masuko et al. [25] and [26]. The reproducibility was particularly strong for higher polysaccharide concentrations, which is within the dynamic range most samples derived from typical purification HTPD will likely reside. The greater simplicity, speed, and ease of automation afforded by the elimination of the discrete heating steps warranted further development of the modified PHS method. A diverse library of mono-, di-, and poly-saccharides were assayed with the modified PHS assay. The carbohydrates tested included glucose, α-lactose monohydrate, l-arabinose, maltose, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, sodium alginate, gellan gum, dextran, ι-carrageenan, glycogen, DNA, endotoxin, and N-acetyl neuraminic acid.

clinicaltrials gov/ct2/show/NCT00981695?term=MVA HIVA+and+pedvacc

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00981695?term=MVA.HIVA+and+pedvacc&rank=1 The Pan African

Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR2009010001152787) http://www.pactr.org/ATMWeb/appmanager/atm/atmregistry?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=basicSearch_1_2&basicSearch_1_2_actionOverride=%2Fpageflows%2Ftrial%2FbasicSearch%2FviewTrail&basicSearch_1_2id=115. “
“The majority of high income countries have Epigenetic inhibitor order introduced three-dose routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes [1]. Although most countries are vaccinating girls/women, only the US, Australia and one Canadian province (Prince Edward Island) have included boys in their routine HPV vaccination programmes. The most commonly used HPV vaccine in high

income countries (including Canada, the UK, the US and Australia) Fulvestrant manufacturer is the quadrivalent [1], which protects against HPV-16/18 (responsible for more than 70% of cervical cancers [2] and associated with other anogenital [3] and [4] and head and neck cancers [5]) and HPV-6/11 (associated with more than 85% of anogenital warts [6]). Although vaccinating girls against HPV is expected to dramatically reduce the burden of HPV-associated diseases [7] and [8] and to be highly cost-effective [9], [10] and [11], it nevertheless imposes an important financial strain on immunisation budgets. In Canada, HPV vaccine represents 40% of the total cost to fully immunise a girl from infancy to adolescence (Dr. Bruno Turmel, Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services, Personal communication) [12]. Decision-makers may thus be interested in the possibility of reducing doses of HPV vaccine to invest the funds on improving coverage to underserved populations, male HPV vaccination or other immunisation programmes. Recent evidence suggests that two doses of HPV vaccine may be as protective as three doses in the short-term. A nested nonrandomised mafosfamide analysis within a phase III randomised clinical trial in Costa Rica suggested that two doses of HPV vaccine has similar high efficacy against vaccine-type persistent

infections as three doses, four years after vaccination [13]. More recently, a phase III randomised trial examined the immunogenicity of two doses in girls 9–13 years compared to three doses in girls 9–13 years and three doses among young women 16–26 years. Results from the study showed that antibody responses for the vaccine-types among girls (9–13 years) who received two doses were noninferior to those among young women (16–26 years) who received three doses, over a period of three years after the last vaccine dose [14]. However, antibody responses to HPV-18 at two years and HPV-6 at three years were significantly lower for girls (9–13 years) who received two doses vs. girls (9–13 years) who received three doses.

Therefore,

increased maternal norepinerphine may play a r

Therefore,

increased maternal norepinerphine may play a role in the PNS phenotype. This hypothesis is strengthened by the observations in the offspring of dams treated with propranolol, a beta-adrenoreceptor antagonist, showing up-regulation of fetal beta 1-adrenoceptors, and increases in norepinephrine activity in adulthood (Erdtsieck-Ernste et al., 1993). To what extent antagonism of the beta-adrenergic receptor also alters the behavioral phenotype of the offspring remains to be studied. Apart from direct effects on the offspring, sympathetic activation may affect the offspring’s phenotype by altering glucocorticoid transport across the placenta. A Selleckchem GDC 973 study in human cell culture suggests that heightened norepinephrine decreased expression of Hsd11b2 ( Sarkar et al., 2001). Another pathway through which maternal stress could impact the development of the offspring is altered immune system activity. In general, stress exposure leads to increased immune activation and subsequent higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the dams. In humans, immune activation during pregnancy, such as viral infection during pregnancy, has been associated with heightened risk for neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and autism (Brown and Derkits, 2010, Chess, 1977 and Wilkerson et al.,

2002). However, the immune response induced by infection may be different selleck inhibitor from the response induced by stress. A study in mice showed that increases in interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 during PD184352 (CI-1040) pregnancy predicted higher maternal weight which is associated with an increased metabolic risk for the offspring, however, no significant correlations were found between maternal cytokine levels and fetal adiposity. This study did not assess if the maternal cytokine levels during pregnancy predict the metabolic phenotype of the offspring in adulthood (Farah et al., 2012). Overall, the

data on the effects of maternal immune activation due to stress on the offspring phenotype is limited. In future studies a thorough investigation of the cytokine levels in both dam and fetus may advance our knowledge on the underlying mechanisms. PNS has been shown to alter the development of the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus (Coe et al., 2003, Fujioka et al., 2006, Kawamura et al., 2006 and Kraszpulski et al., 2006). In summary, prenatal stress was shown to decrease neurogenesis (Coe et al., 2003 and Fujioka et al., 2006), neuronal arborization (Kraszpulski et al., 2006),neuronal density (Kawamura et al., 2006) these brain areas. Furthermore, dendritic architecture was shown to be altered in PNS rats (Jia et al., 2010). Finally, PNS exposure resulted in decreased neuronal connectivity (Goelman et al., 2014). In addition to amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampal development, it may be that exposure to prenatal stress induces changes in development of the hypothalamus.


“Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cau


“Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness buy Sorafenib in older individuals in the Western world. The aging of baby boomers is expected to lead to a 2-fold increase in the number of white person 65 years of age or older by 2031.1 Correspondingly,

a doubling in the number of North Americans with AMD is expected. The exudative (wet or neovascular) form of AMD is associated most widely with central vision impairment and legal blindness.1 The 15-year cumulative incidence of wet AMD in Americans 75 years of age or older is 4.4%.2 By 2020, in the United States alone, it is estimated that nearly 3 million individuals will be affected by wet AMD.3 The progressive nature of wet AMD, its substantial societal and personal impact, and its high prevalence make it essential to develop clinical strategies to reduce its impact. It represents an important cause of morbidity and presents direct financial burdens of more than $10 billion in direct annual medical costs in the United States and accounts for significant loss of productivity.4 Designing efficient and cost-effective treatment methods therefore is highly desirable. The management of wet AMD

IOX1 datasheet was revolutionized by the introduction of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies.5, 6 and 7 Regrettably, 5% to 10% of patients proceed to lose 3 lines or more of visual acuity (VA), and most exudative lesions show some sign of activity by the end of follow-up. In addition, increased numbers of thromboembolic events, possible neuronal toxicity, and higher incidence of geographic atrophy in patients with more frequent anti-VEGF injections also may be of concern.8, 9 and 10 Thus,

developing alternative or adjunct therapies to currently available anti-VEGF drugs may increase treatment success, slow AMD progression, and improve VA outcomes. The abnormal and disproportionate growth of Megestrol Acetate choroidal vessels associated with wet AMD likely stems from a compensatory angiogenic response to overcome an earlier phase of microvessel degeneration and reinstate metabolic equilibrium to the hypoxic macula. A potential strategy to influence and reduce the progression of wet AMD comes from directly modulating the cellular make-up of the retina. In this respect, the outer retina is highly concentrated in diet-derived long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs)11, 12 and 13 such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) of the omega-3 family and arachidonic acid of the omega-6 family. The capacity of lipids to play biological roles beyond energy storage and membrane structure long has been recognized.13 and 14 Importantly, dysregulation in lipid signaling is a salient feature of conditions associated with chronic inflammation such as metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, asthma, allergic response, autoimmunity, hypertension, cancer, and importantly in the context of the current study, ocular vasoproliferative diseases.

7 The results showed that levels of circulating antibodies are in

7 The results showed that levels of circulating antibodies are increased if the test animals are pretreated with the extract. Cellular immunity involves effector mechanisms carried out by T lymphocytes and their products (lymphokines). DTH requires the specific recognition of a given antigen by activated T lymphocytes, which subsequently proliferate and release cytokines. These

in turn increase vascular permeability, induce vasodilatation promoting increased phagocytic activity. A subsequent exposure to the SRBCs antigen induces the effector phase of the DTH response, SB203580 molecular weight where TH1 cells secrete a variety of cytokines that recruits and activates macrophages and other non-specific inflammatory mediators.15 Therefore, increase in DTH reaction in mice in response to T cell dependent antigen revealed the stimulatory effect of MLHT on T cells. MLHT has shown dose dependent activity. MLHT with low dose has less effect on hematological parameters especially on RBC but the high dose of the crude extract showed significant increase in the WBC count compared to the RBC count and hemoglobin. Estimation of the liver enzymes did not reflect any toxicity, the effect of MLHT on LFT enzymes may be due to

the flavonoids and coumarins which buy Olaparib accomplish the hepatoprotective nature of the plant.16 In conclusion, the results obtained in the present study show that H. tiliaceus methanolic leaf extract produces stimulatory effect on the humoral and cell mediated immune response in the experimental animals and suggest its therapeutic usefulness in disorders of immunological origin. Further studies to identify the active constituents and elucidation of mechanism of action are recommended since it is not possible to single out the most effective

immunostimulatory constituents of this plant. All authors have none to declare. The authors thank JPR solutions for providing the partial funding to publish this research work. “
“Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus Org 27569 paeoniifolius) is a plant, which is found as underground, hemispherical, depressed, dark brown corm. It is normally grown in north–eastern part of India. It is an underground, unbranched plant. Leaves are compound, large, solitary, petiole, and stout, mottled. Leaflets are 5–12.5 cm long of variable width, obovate or oblong, acute, strongly & many nerved. It is contiguous, neuters absent, appendage of spadix, subglobose or amorphous, equally or longer than the fertile region, spathe campanulate, pointed, strongly, closely veined, greenish-pink externally, base within purple, margins recurved, undulate, & crisped, male inflorescence sub turbinate, female 7.5 cm or more long. Fruits are obovoid 2–3 seeded and red berries. The fruit is known as corm and this part is used as active part of the plant. The corm has been used as the sources of the various medicines.

This is consistent with other reported cLIA responses

This is consistent with other reported cLIA responses Vandetanib nmr to Gardasil® vaccine [4], [5] and [18]. We previously reported that the HPV 16 and 18 PsV preparations used for the present study demonstrated similar reporter plasmid packaging efficiency [10], so this is unlikely to explain the observed differences. In addition, the measured

PsV NAb titres could have been affected by the amount of L1 protein in the respective PsV preparations. The PsV L1 content has been shown to vary among HPV genotypes [19] and the HPV 16 PsV preparation in our study contained two to three times more L1 than the HPV 18 PsV. Of interest, the infectious unit titre of the HPV 16 PsV was approximately two times higher than that of HPV 18. These factors, as well as the packaging efficiency of the PsV, could have resulted in differences in the measured HPV 16 and 18 antibody levels. In contrast to Gardasil®, the Cervarix® vaccine induces similar antibody levels in women > 18 years of age for both HPV 16 and 18 [20] and antibody levels for both HPV 16 and 18 are higher than those induced by Gardasil®. The significance of the disparities in antibody titres induced by the two vaccines and their

relevance to long-term persistence of vaccine-induced antibodies is unknown, given that very low levels of HPV antibodies have been shown to be protective in animal models [21]. We did not detect higher levels of antibodies Fulvestrant ic50 at 36 months among subjects who were baseline HPV 16 or 18 seropositive, an observation similar to that of Ngan et al. with Cervarix® vaccine [22]. In contrast, Giuliano et al. [18] and Villa et al. [4] reported that baseline seropositive individuals demonstrated significantly higher anti-HPV responses following Gardasil® vaccine than those who were seronegative at baseline. We also were unable to demonstrate a significant difference in antibody responses at 36 months among subjects over who were baseline HPV 16 or 18

DNA positive vs. negative, similar to the observations of Villa et al. [4]. Giuliano et al. [18] demonstrated that baseline HPV 16 and 18 DNA negative subjects had similar post-vaccine responses as baseline DNA positive subjects, except when subjects were both seropositive and DNA positive at baseline. Opalka et al. [3] reported that baseline HPV DNA positive subjects generally had higher titres at 48 months compared to subjects who were HPV DNA negative at day 0 or month 7. As our study had small numbers of baseline cLIA and PsV NAb seropositive and baseline DNA positive subjects, we lack the statistical power to assess potential differences in antibody responses for these subjects. Given the high baseline HPV 16 and HPV 18 TIgG seropositivity among the study groups, it is unclear if all the detected TIgG antibodies are type-specific and/or neutralizing.

4 TCID50 per horse Horses were clinically examined twice

4 TCID50 per horse. Horses were clinically examined twice

a day following infection with AHSV-9 and more often once clinical signs began to develop. Clinical signs and rectal temperatures were recorded. Humane end-points established for this experiment included any of the following: presence of severe generalised oedema, severe dyspnoea, presence of foamy nasal exudate, severe depression with prostration or high rectal temperatures (above 40 °C) for four consecutive days. Blood samples for serological analysis were collected on days 0 (V1), 6, 13, 20 (V2), 27 and 34 (challenge). Blood samples for virus isolation and RT-PCR were collected on day 34 (challenge I-BET151 day) and days 3, 7, 9, 11, 14, 17 and 21 post-challenge. To measure VNAb, serum samples were first inactivated at 56 °C for 30 min and then titrated in a 96-well flat-bottomed tissue culture plate. Standard published methods were followed [13] and [17]. Briefly, each dilution was incubated with 100 TCID50 of the AHSV-9 virus, incubated for 4 days and end-points defined as the dilution that neutralised virus

infectivity of 50% of the replicates. Titres were calculated according to Karber [18]. Serum samples were also analysed using a VP7 ELISA test to determine the antibody responses specific for this AHSV antigen. The INGEZIM VP7 ELISA (Ingenasa, Madrid, Spain) was used according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Blood samples were processed as previously described [12]. The treated samples were serially diluted, in triplicate, on a micro titre mTOR inhibitor plate and each sample incubated with 100 μl/well of a cell suspension containing 105 Vero cells/ml. After 4 days incubation the highest sample dilution causing cytopathic effect in 50% of the replicate wells was recorded and the Tissue Culture Infectious Dose 50 (TCID50) of the sample calculated unless according

to Karber: Log10TCID50 = a − D (Sp − 0.5), where a is the log10 of highest dilution giving 100% cpe; D is the log10 of the dilution factor; Sp is the sum of the fractions of cpe-positive replicates; and 0.5 is a constant. The final viraemia results were expressed as TCID50/ml of blood. Real time RT-PCR was performed according to published procedures [19]. Briefly, viral RNA was extracted from blood samples using the BioSprnt 96 DNA Blood kit (QIAGEN) following manufacturer’s instructions. A known concentration of a synthetic double-stranded RNA from the viral RNA segment encoding VP7 was used as a standard to quantify the viral genome copies. This synthetic double stranded RNA was generated using a pMA plasmid (Life Technologies) coding for a 107 bp fragment from AHSV-VP7 gene flanked on both sides by T7 polymerase promoters. For the generation of the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), both RNA strands were transcribed in vitro using the MEGAshortscript™T7 Kit (Ambion) following manufacturer instructions.