Beam steering with high front-to-back ratio and high directivity on small platforms using decoupled antenna pairs

Beam steering with high front-to-back ratio and high directivity on a small platform is proposed. Two closely spaced antenna pairs with eigenmode port decoupling are used as the basic radiating elements. Two orthogonal radiation patterns are obtained for each antenna pair. High front-to-back ratio and high directivity are achieved by combining the two orthogonal radiation patterns. With an infinite groundplane, a front-to-back ratio of 21 dB with a directivity of 9.8 dB can be achieved. Beam steering, at the expense of a slight decrease in directivity, is achieved by placing the two antenna pairs 0.5λ apart. The simulated half power beamwidth is 58°. A prototype was designed and the 2-D radiation patterns were measured. The prototype supports three directions of beam steering. The half power beamwidth was measured as 46°, 48°, and 50° for the three respective beam directions. The measured front-to-back ratio in azimuth plane is 8.5 dB, 8.0 dB and 7.6 dB, respectively.

Cross likelihood ratio based speaker clustering using eigenvoice models

This paper proposes the use of eigenvoice modeling techniques with the Cross Likelihood Ratio (CLR) as a criterion for speaker clustering within a speaker diarization system. The CLR has previously been shown to be a robust decision criterion for speaker clustering using Gaussian Mixture Models. Recently, eigenvoice modeling techniques have become increasingly popular, due to its ability to adequately represent a speaker based on sparse training data, as well as an improved capture of differences in speaker characteristics. This paper hence proposes that it would be beneficial to capitalize on the advantages of eigenvoice modeling in a CLR framework. Results obtained on the 2002 Rich Transcription (RT-02) Evaluation dataset show an improved clustering performance, resulting in a 35.1% relative improvement in the overall Diarization Error Rate (DER) compared to the baseline system.

Effects of corrugation frequency and aspect ratio on natural convection within an enclosure having sinusoidal corrugation over a heated top surface

Natural convection of a two-dimensional laminar steady-state incompressible fluid flow in a modified rectangular enclosure with sinusoidal corrugated top surface has been investigated numerically. The present study has been carried out for different corrugation frequencies on the top surface as well as aspect ratios of the enclosure in order to observe the change in hydrodynamic and thermal behavior with constant corrugation amplitude. A constant flux heat source is flush mounted on the top sinusoidal wall, modeling a wavy sheet shaded room exposed to sunlight. The flat bottom surface is considered as adiabatic, while the both vertical side walls are maintained at the constant ambient temperature. The fluid considered inside the enclosure is air having Prandtl number of 0.71. The numerical scheme is based on the finite element method adapted to triangular non-uniform mesh element by a non-linear parametric solution algorithm. The results in terms of isotherms, streamlines and average Nusselt numbers are obtained for the Rayleigh number ranging from 10^3 to 10^6 with constant physical properties for the fluid medium considered. It is found that the convective phenomena are greatly influenced by the presence of the corrugation and variation of aspect ratios.

Models of collective cell motion for cell populations with different aspect ratio : diffusion, proliferation and travelling waves

Continuum, partial differential equation models are often used to describe the collective motion of cell populations, with various types of motility represented by the choice of diffusion coefficient, and cell proliferation captured by the source terms. Previously, the choice of diffusion coefficient has been largely arbitrary, with the decision to choose a particular linear or nonlinear form generally based on calibration arguments rather than making any physical connection with the underlying individual-level properties of the cell motility mechanism. In this work we provide a new link between individual-level models, which account for important cell properties such as varying cell shape and volume exclusion, and population-level partial differential equation models. We work in an exclusion process framework, considering aligned, elongated cells that may occupy more than one lattice site, in order to represent populations of agents with different sizes. Three different idealizations of the individual-level mechanism are proposed, and these are connected to three different partial differential equations, each with a different diffusion coefficient; one linear, one nonlinear and degenerate and one nonlinear and nondegenerate. We test the ability of these three models to predict the population level response of a cell spreading problem for both proliferative and nonproliferative cases. We also explore the potential of our models to predict long time travelling wave invasion rates and extend our results to two dimensional spreading and invasion. Our results show that each model can accurately predict density data for nonproliferative systems, but that only one does so for proliferative systems. Hence great care must be taken to predict density data for with varying cell shape.

Human herpesvirus 8 load and progression of AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma lesions

Introduction—Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is necessary for Kaposi sarcoma (KS) to develop, but whether peripheral blood viral load is a marker of KS burden (total number of KS lesions), KS progression (the rate of eruption of new KS lesions), or both is unclear. We investigated these relationships in persons with AIDS. Methods—Newly diagnosed patients with AIDS-related KS attending Mulago Hospital, in Kampala, Uganda, were assessed for KS burden and progression by questionnaire and medical examination. Venous blood samples were taken for HHV8 load measurements by PCR. Associations were examined with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from logistic regression models and with t-tests. Results—Among 74 patients (59% men), median age was 34.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 28.5-41). HHV8 DNA was detected in 93% and quantified in 77% patients. Median virus load was 3.8 logs10/106 peripheral blood cells (IQR 3.4-5.0) and was higher in men than women (4.4 vs. 3.8 logs; p=0.04), in patients with faster (>20 lesions per year) than slower rate of KS lesion eruption (4.5 vs. 3.6 logs; p<0.001), and higher, but not significantly, among patients with more (>median [20] KS lesions) than fewer KS lesions (4.4 vs. 4.0 logs; p=0.16). HHV8 load was unrelated to CD4 lymphocyte count (p=0.23). Conclusions—We show significant association of HHV8 load in peripheral blood with rate of eruption of KS lesions, but not with total lesion count. Our results suggest that viral load increases concurrently with development of new KS lesions.

IL-18 inhibits growth of murine orthotopic prostate carcinomas via both adaptive and innate immune mechanisms

Interleukin(IL)-18 is a pleiotrophic cytokine with functions in immune modulation, angiogenesis and bone metabolism. In this study, the potential of IL-18 as an immunotherapy for prostate cancer (PCa) was examined using the murine model of prostate carcinoma, RM1 and a bone metastatic variant RM1(BM)/B4H7-luc. RM1 and RM1(BM)/B4H7-luc cells were stably transfected to express bioactive IL-18. These cells were implanted into syngeneic immunocompetent mice, with or without an IL-18-neutralising antibody (αIL-18, SK113AE4). IL-18 significantly inhibited the growth of both subcutaneous and orthotopic RM1 tumors and the IL-18 neutralizing antibody abrogated the tumor growth-inhibition. In vivo neutralization of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) completely eliminated the anti-tumor effects of IL-18 confirming an essential role of IFN-γ as a down-stream mediator of the anti-tumor activity of IL-18. Tumors from mice in which IL-18 and/or IFN-γ was neutralized contained significantly fewer CD4+ and CD8+ T cells than those with functional IL-18. The essential role of adaptive immunity was demonstrated as tumors grew more rapidly in RAG1−/− mice or in mice depleted of CD4+ and/or CD8+ cells than in normal mice. The tumors in RAG1−/− mice were also significantly smaller when IL-18 was present, indicating that innate immune mechanisms are involved. IL-18 also induced an increase in tumor infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils but not NK cells. In other experiments, direct injection of recombinant IL-18 into established tumors also inhibited tumor growth, which was associated with an increase in intratumoral macrophages, but not T cells. These results suggest that local IL-18 in the tumor environment can significantly potentiate anti-tumor immunity in the prostate and clearly demonstrate that this effect is mediated by innate and adaptive immune mechanisms.

Analysis of the damping properties of high-transmission-ratio Cycloidal drives

Cycloidal drives are widely used in today’s industries for drives where large reduction ratios are required. Drive-train dynamics plays an important role in their design. This paper presents a new methodology for assessing damping characteristics of Cycloidal drives and compares the natural frequencies obtained from experiments and theoretical/numerical calculations using Fast-Fourier-Transforms.

Suicide rates in Shandong, China, 1991–2010 : rapid decrease in rural rates and steady increase in male–female ratio

Background China has one of the highest suicide rates in the world; however, the recent trends in suicide have not been adequately studied. This study aimed to examine the potential changes in the rates and characteristics in a Chinese population. Methods Data on suicide deaths in 1991–2010 were extracted from the Shandong Disease Surveillance Point (DSP) mortality dataset based on ICD-10 codes. The temporal trend in age-adjusted suicide rates for each subpopulation was tested using log-linear Poisson regression analysis. Results From 1991 to 2010, there was a marked decrease in the overall suicide rate in Shandong, with an average reduction of 8% per year. The decrease trend was stronger in rural than in urban areas and more evident in females than in males. Similar decreases were observed for all age groups. Pesticide ingestion and hanging remained the top two methods for suicide. Limitations There are likely quality concerns in the morality data, such as underreporting and misclassification, as well as low accuracy in determining the underlying causes of deaths. The representativeness of the DSP system may also be problematic due to the rapid changes in economy and demography. Conclusions Completed suicides in Shandong have sharply declined over the past 20 years. Higher rates in females versus males and in rural versus urban areas, which were previously considered to be distinguishing features of suicide in China, are becoming less pronounced.

Abrogation of contaminating RNA activity in HIV-1 Gag VLPs

Background: HIV-1 Gag virus like particles (VLPs) used as candidate vaccines are regarded as inert particles as they contain no replicative nucleic acid, although they do encapsidate cellular RNAs. During HIV-1 Gag VLP production in baculovirus-based expression systems, VLPs incorporate the baculovirus Gp64 envelope glycoprotein, which facilitates their entry into mammalian cells. This suggests that HIV-1 Gag VLPs produced using this system facilitate uptake and subsequent expression of encapsidated RNA in mammalian cells - an unfavourable characteristic for a vaccine. Methods. HIV-1 Gag VLPs encapsidating reporter chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) RNA, were made in insect cells using the baculovirus expression system. The presence of Gp64 on the VLPs was verified by western blotting and RT-PCR used to detect and quantitate encapsidated CAT RNA. VLP samples were heated to inactivate CAT RNA. Unheated and heated VLPs incubated with selected mammalian cell lines and cell lysates tested for the presence of CAT protein by ELISA. Mice were inoculated with heated and unheated VLPs using a DNA prime VLP boost regimen. Results: HIV-1 Gag VLPs produced had significantly high levels of Gp64 (∼1650 Gp64 molecules/VLP) on their surfaces. The amount of encapsidated CAT RNA/g Gag VLPs ranged between 0.1 to 7 ng. CAT protein was detected in 3 of the 4 mammalian cell lines incubated with VLPs. Incubation with heated VLPs resulted in BHK-21 and HeLa cell lysates showing reduced CAT protein levels compared with unheated VLPs and HEK-293 cells. Mice inoculated with a DNA prime VLP boost regimen developed Gag CD8 and CD4 T cell responses to GagCAT VLPs which also boosted a primary DNA response. Heating VLPs did not abrogate these immune responses but enhanced the Gag CD4 T cell responses by two-fold. Conclusions: Baculovirus-produced HIV-1 Gag VLPs encapsidating CAT RNA were taken up by selected mammalian cell lines. The presence of CAT protein indicates that encapsidated RNA was expressed in the mammalian cells. Heat-treatment of the VLPs altered the ability of protein to be expressed in some cell lines tested but did not affect the ability of the VLPs to stimulate an immune response when inoculated into mice. © 2011 Valley-Omar et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Comparison of cervical and blood T-cell responses to human papillomavirus-16 in women with human papillomavirus-associated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are obligate epithelial pathogens and typically cause localized mucosal infections. We therefore hypothesized that T-cell responses to HPV antigens would be greater at sites of pathology than in the blood. Focusing on HPV-16 because of its association with cervical cancer, the magnitude of HPV-specific T-cell responses at the cervix was compared with those in the peripheral blood by intracellular cytokine staining following direct ex vivo stimulation with both virus-like particles assembled from the major capsid protein L1, and the major HPV oncoprotein, E7. We show that both CD4 + and CD8 + T cells from the cervix responded to the HPV-16 antigens and that interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production was HPV type-specific. Comparing HPV-specific T-cell IFN-γ responses at the cervix with those in the blood, we found that while CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell responses to L1 were significantly correlated between compartments (P = 0.02 and P = 0.05, respectively), IFN-γ responses in both T-cell subsets were significantly greater in magnitude at the cervix than in peripheral blood (P = 0.02 and P = 0.003, respectively). In contrast, both CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell IFN-γ responses to E7 were of similar magnitude in both compartments and CD8 + responses were significantly correlated between these distinct immunological compartments (P = 0.04). We therefore show that inflammatory T-cell responses against L1 (but not E7) demonstrate clear compartmental bias and the magnitude of these responses do reflect local viral replication but that correlation of HPV-specific responses between compartments indicates their linkage.

Human papillomavirus prevalence, viral load and pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix in women initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy in South Africa : a cross-sectional study

Background Cervical cancer and infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are both important public health problems in South Africa (SA). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs), high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV), HPV viral load and HPV genotypes in HIV positive women initiating anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted at an anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment clinic in Cape Town, SA in 2007. Cervical specimens were taken for cytological analysis and HPV testing. The Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test was used to detect HR-HPV. Relative light units (RLU) were used as a measure of HPV viral load. HPV types were determined using the Roche Linear Array HPV Genotyping test. Crude associations with abnormal cytology were tested and multiple logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for abnormal cytology. Results The median age of the 109 participants was 31 years, the median CD4 count was 125/mm3, 66.3% had an abnormal Pap smear, the HR-HPV prevalence was 78.9% (Digene), the median HPV viral load was 181.1 RLU (HC2 positive samples only) and 78.4% had multiple genotypes. Among women with abnormal smears the most prevalent HR-HPV types were HPV types 16, 58 and 51, all with a prevalence of 28.5%. On univariate analysis HR-HPV, multiple HPV types and HPV viral load were significantly associated with the presence of low and high-grade SILs (LSIL/HSIL). The multivariate logistic regression showed that HPV viral load was associated with an increased odds of LSIL/HSIL, odds ratio of 10.7 (95% CI 2.0 – 57.7) for those that were HC2 positive and had a viral load of ≤ 181.1 RLU (the median HPV viral load), and 33.8 (95% CI 6.4 – 178.9) for those that were HC2 positive with a HPV viral load > 181.1 RLU. Conclusion Women initiating ARVs have a high prevalence of abnormal Pap smears and HR-HPV. Our results underscore the need for locally relevant, rigorous screening protocols for the increasing numbers of women accessing ARV therapy so that the benefits of ARVs are not partially offset by an excess risk in cervical cancer.

HIV-1 sub-type C chimaeric VLPs boost cellular immune responses in mice

Several approaches have been explored to eradicate HIV; however, a multigene vaccine appears to be the best option, given their proven potential to elicit broad, effective responses in animal models. The Pr55 Gagprotein is an excellent vaccine candidate in its own right, given that it can assemble into large, enveloped, virus-like particles (VLPs) which are highly immunogenic, and can moreover be used as a scaffold for the presentation of other large non-structural HIV antigens. In this study, we evaluated the potential of two novel chimaeric HIV-1 Pr55 Gag-based VLP constructs - C-terminal fusions with reverse transcriptase and a Tat::Nef fusion protein, designated GagRT and GagTN respectively - to enhance a cellular response in mice when used as boost components in two types of heterologous prime-boost vaccine strategies. A vaccine regimen consisting of a DNA prime and chimaeric HIV-1 VLP boosts in mice induced strong, broad cellular immune responses at an optimum dose of 100 ng VLPs. The enhanced cellular responses induced by the DNA prime-VLP boost were two- to three-fold greater than two DNA vaccinations. Moreover, a mixture of GagRT and GagTN VLPs also boosted antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses, while VLP vaccinations only induced predominantly robust Gag CD4+ T-cell responses. The results demonstrate the promising potential of these chimaeric VLPs as vaccine candidates against HIV-1. © 2010 Pillay et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Automatic Audio Segmentation Using the Generalized Likelihood Ratio

This paper presents a novel technique for segmenting an audio stream into homogeneous regions according to speaker identities, background noise, music, environmental and channel conditions. Audio segmentation is useful in audio diarization systems, which aim to annotate an input audio stream with information that attributes temporal regions of the audio into their specific sources. The segmentation method introduced in this paper is performed using the Generalized Likelihood Ratio (GLR), computed between two adjacent sliding windows over preprocessed speech. This approach is inspired by the popular segmentation method proposed by the pioneering work of Chen and Gopalakrishnan, using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) with an expanding search window. This paper will aim to identify and address the shortcomings associated with such an approach. The result obtained by the proposed segmentation strategy is evaluated on the 2002 Rich Transcription (RT-02) Evaluation dataset, and a miss rate of 19.47% and a false alarm rate of 16.94% is achieved at the optimal threshold.