1. A DNA ligand sequence consisting of a nucleic acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOS: 1-774.
2. A composition comprising the DNA ligand sequence of claim 1.
3. The composition of claim 2, wherein said aptamer is capable of binding to a targeted arthropod-borne rickettsia bacteria.
4. The composition of claim 2, wherein said aptamer is capable of binding to a targeted arthropod-borne viruses.
5. The composition of claim 3, being capable of use for detecting said targeted rickettsia bacteria, wherein said targeted rickettsia bacteria is present in a sample with at least 10 bacteria per mL.
6. The composition of claim 3, being capable of use for quantifying the number of said targeted rickettsia bacteria in a sample.
7. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 1, wherein:
said DNA ligand sequence is capable of being used for at least one of the assay types: ELISA-like, lateral flow chromatographic test strips or dipsticks, chemiluminescence or electrochemiluminescence (ECL), fluorescence (intensity, lifetime, FP, FRET beacons and competitive FRET), magnetic bead capture, membrane blotting (including dot or slot blotting and the DNA ligand-based analog to \u201cWestern\u201d blotting), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), surface acoustic and transverse wave (SAW and STW)-based biosensing, plastic-adherent, or radioisotopic,
and wherein said assay provides detection in homogenized or chemically extracted arthropod samples and animal or human whole blood, plasma, serum, saliva, interstitial, synovial, cerebrospinal fluid, mucus, urine in tubes, cuvettes or on flat surfaces such as membranes or plastic or glass arrays.
8. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is a strain of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus and said DNA ligand sequence is selected from SEQ ID NOs. 1-168 or 663-756.
9. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is a strain of Chikungunya virus and said DNA ligand sequence is selected from SEQ ID NOs. 169-204.
10. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is a strain or serotype of Dengue virus and said DNA ligand sequence is are selected from SEQ ID NOs. 205-272.
11. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is a strain of West Nile virus and said DNA ligand sequences are selected from SEQ ID NOs. 273-310.
12. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is a strain of Tick-borne encephalitis virus and said DNA ligand sequence is selected from SEQ ID NOs. 757-774.
13. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is rickettsial species causing typhus or a spotted fever and said DNA ligand sequence is selected from SEQ ID NOs. 311-462 or 549-662.
14. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 7 wherein the target is a species or strain of Leishmania parasite and said DNA ligand sequence is selected from SEQ ID NOs. 463-548.
15. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 1, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is produced by chemical synthesis, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is linear, wherein said nucleic acid sequence has two- or three-dimensional linked multiple aptamers or aptamer binding sites in which said aptamer binding sites have two or more single-stranded segments of 5-10 bases, and wherein intervening nucleotide sequences between said aptamer binding sites do not bind the target.
16. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 1, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is produced biosynthetically (enzymatically) by polymerase chain reaction (\u201cPCR\u201d), asymmetric PCR, or other DNA polymerase-based reaction using a complementary template DNA, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is linear, wherein said nucleic acid sequence has two- or three-dimensional linked multiple aptamers or aptamer binding sites in which said aptamer binding sites have two or more single-stranded segments of 5-10 bases, and wherein intervening nucleotide sequences between said aptamer binding sites do not bind the target.
17. The DNA ligand sequence of claim 1, wherein said nucleic acid sequence is capable, in vivo, of binding and blocking or inhibiting host cell entry and disease progression of arboviruses, rickettsia or parasites.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claims which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A high-pressure generating device comprising a cylindrical housing with an intake port, an outlet port, a pressure chamber, a first protrusion extending inside said pressure chamber and having a first fluid passage connecting said intake port to said pressure chamber, a second protrusion extending inside said pressure chamber and having a third fluid passage and an outlet fluid passage connecting said outlet port to said pressure chamber, said second protrusion being provided at its innermost end with a partition member, a cylindrical piston disposed reciprocally in said pressure chamber and having a first chamber section, a second chamber section, a third chamber section and a partition wall for partitioning said first and second chamber sections, said partition wall having a second fluid passage, said first chamber section being connected to said intake port through said second fluid passage, said third chamber section being connected to said outlet port through said outlet fluid passage in said second protrusion, said first and second chamber sections being connected to each other through said second fluid passage in said partition wall, a first check valve mounted in said first fluid passage for allowing fluid to flow from said intake port to said first chamber section, a second check valve mounted in said second fluid passage for allowing fluid to flow from said first chamber section to said second chamber section, a third check valve mounted in said third fluid passage for allowing fluid to flow from said second chamber section to said third chamber section, and an actuator for reciprocally moving said piston to allow fluid to be introduced from said intake port into said pressure chamber and discharged from said pressure chamber through said outlet port.
2. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator includes an operating pressure source for exerting operating fluid on said piston through a directional control valve to move said piston reciprocally.
3. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator includes a driving device, a universal joint, and a rotation-to-linear motion converter.
4. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said driving device is an electric motor.
5. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said actuator includes driving device and a cam.
6. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said driving device is an electric motor.
7. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first chamber section has a larger compressive capacity than said second chamber section so as to make said second chamber section substantially equal in pressure to the fluid discharged from said third chamber section in moving said piston.
8. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first check valve includes a ball and a spring urging said ball so as to allow the fluid to pass from said intake port into said first chamber section.
9. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first check valve is a switching valve operated by the operating fluid fed from said operating pressure source so as to allow the fluid to pass from said intake port into said first chamber section.
10. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator includes a selection valve, a first pilot valve with a push rod and a second pilot valve with a push rod, said first and second pilot valves being alternately operated in conjunction with said selection valve to move said piston reciprocally.
11. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator includes an operating pressure source for supplying operating fluid, a first hydraulic control chamber defined by said housing and said first baffle member of said piston for receiving said operating fluid from said operating pressure source to move said piston in a first direction, a second hydraulic control chamber defined by said housing and said second baffle member of said piston for receiving said operating fluid from said operating pressure source to move said piston in a second direction, and a directional control valve for selectively feeding said operating fluid from said operating pressure source to either said first hydraulic control chamber or said second hydraulic control chamber.
12. A high-pressure generating device comprising: a cylindrical housing with an intake port, an outlet port, a pressure chamber, a first protrusion extending inside said pressure chamber and having a first fluid passage connecting said intake port to said pressure chamber, a second protrusion extending inside said pressure chamber and having a third fluid passage and an outlet fluid passage connecting said outlet port to said pressure chamber, said second protrusion being provided at its innermost end with a partition member, a cylindrical piston disposed reciprocally in said pressure chamber and having a first chamber section, a second chamber section, a third chamber section, a partition wall for partitioning said first and second chamber sections and a first baffle member and a second baffle member, said partition wall having a second fluid passage, said first chamber section being connected to said intake port through said second fluid passage, said third chamber section being connected to said outlet port through said outlet fluid passage in said second protrusion, said first and second chamber sections being connected to each other through said second fluid passage in said partition wall,
a first check valve mounted in said first fluid passage for allowing fluid to flow from said intake port to said first chamber section,
a second check valve mounted in said second fluid passage for allowing fluid to flow from said first chamber section to said second chamber section,
a third check valve mounted in said third fluid passage for allowing fluid to flow from said second chamber section to said third chamber section,
an actuator including an operating pressure source for supplying operating fluid, a first hydraulic control chamber defined by said housing and said first baffle member of said piston for receiving said operating fluid from said operating pressure source to move said piston in a first direction, a second hydraulic control chamber defined by said housing and said second baffle member of said piston for receiving said operating fluid from said operating pressure source to move said piston in a second direction, and a directional control valve for selectively feeding said operating fluid from said operating pressure source to either said first hydraulic control chamber or said second hydraulic control chamber.
13. A high-pressure generating device as claimed in claim 12, wherein said first chamber section has a larger compressive capacity than said second chamber section so as to make said second chamber section substantially equal in pressure to the fluid discharged from said third chamber section in moving said piston.