– Filtered back projection (FBP) is a commonly used image reconstruction scheme for parallel beam tomography. The algorithm implemented in this project, called fast hierarchical back projection (FHBP), was proposed in [1] as a fast approximation to the direct FBP technique. Through derivation, implementation and simulation results, I will show a complete picture on this novel algorithm for a cl...

Factor H binding protein (fHbp) is a lipoprotein of Neisseria meningitidis important for the survival of the bacterium in human blood and a component of two recently licensed vaccines against serogroup B meningococcus (MenB). Based on 866 different amino acid sequences this protein is divided into three variants or two families. Quantification of the protein is done by immunoassays such as ELIS...

Streptococcus suis is an important bacterial swine pathogen and a zoonotic agent. Recently, two surface proteins of S. suis, Fhb and Fhbp, have been described for their capacity to bind factor H-a soluble complement regulatory protein that protects host cells from complement-mediated damages. Results obtained in this study showed an important role of host factor H in the adhesion of S. suis to ...

Neisseria meningitidis recruits host human complement inhibitors to its surface to down-regulate complement activation and enhance survival in blood. We have investigated whether such complement inhibitor binding occurs after vaccination with native outer membrane vesicles (nOMVs), and limits immunogenicity of such vaccines. To this end, nOMVs reactogenic lipopolysaccharide was detoxified by de...

In Gram-negative bacteria, outer membrane-associated lipoproteins can either face the periplasm or protrude out of the bacterial surface. The mechanisms involved in lipoprotein transport through the outer membrane are not fully elucidated. Some lipoproteins reach the surface by using species-specific transport machinery. By contrast, a still poorly characterized group of lipoproteins appears to...

Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of bacterial meningitis and a considerable health problem in the 25 countries of the 'African Meningitis Belt' that extends from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia in the East. Approximately 80% of cases of meningococcal meningitis in Africa have been caused by strains belonging to capsular serogroup A. After the introduction of a serogroup A conjugate po...

is a major cause of bacterial meningitis and a Neisseria meningitidis considerable health problem in the 25 countries of the ‘African Meningitis Belt’ that extends from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia in the East. Approximately 80% of cases of meningococcal meningitis in Africa have been caused by strains belonging to capsular serogroup A. After the introduction of a serogroup A conjugate po...

There are several typographical errors in this Article. In the legend of Figure 7, ‘‘(Open triangles with dashed line)’’ should read, ‘‘(Open triangles with solid line)’’ and, ‘‘(Open circles with solid line)’’ should read, ‘‘(Open circles with dashed line)’’. In the Results, JAR 41 elicits human complement-mediated bactericidal activity with second anti-fHbp mAbs subsection, ‘‘(for example, JA...

We have recently described a method, named PROFILER, for the identification of antigenic regions preferentially targeted by polyclonal antibody responses after vaccination. To test the ability of the technique to provide insights into the functional properties of monoclonal antibody (mAb) epitopes, we used here a well-characterized epitope of meningococcal factor H binding protein (fHbp), which...

Treponema denticola is a gram-negative bacteria that associated with periodontal diseases. Literature derived, six indole based oxadiazole derivatives are docked the target Factor H binding protein (fHbp) protein. Results show better docking interaction compared to clinically proven drugs and all compounds obey Lipinski’s rule of five. Hence, were inferred be potential inhibitors for factor den...