Implementation of the conjugate heat transfer code in KIVA-4

KIVA is an open Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) source code that is capable to compute the transient two and three-dimensional chemically reactive fluid flows with spray. The latest version in the family of KIVA codes is the KIVA-4 which is capable of handling the unstructured mesh. This project focuses on the implementation of the Conjugate Heat Transfer code (CHT) in KIVA-4. The previous version of KIVA code with conjugate heat transfer code has been developed at Michigan Technological University by Egel Urip and is be used in this project. During the first phase of the project, the difference in the code structure between the previous version of KIVA and the KIVA-4 has been studied, which is the most challenging part of the project. The second phase involves the reverse engineering where the CHT code in previous version is extracted and implemented in KIVA-4 according to the new code structure. The validation of the implemented code is performed using a 4-valve Pentroof engine case. A solid cylinder wall has been developed using GRIDGEN which surrounds 3/4th of the engine cylinder and heat transfer to the solid wall during one engine cycle (0-720 Crank Angle Degree) is compared with that of the reference result. The reference results are nothing but the same engine case run in the previous version with the original code developed by Egel. The results of current code are very much comparable to that of the reference results which verifies that successful implementation of the CHT code in KIVA-4.

Antibody responses induced by long-term vaccination with an octovalent conjugate Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine in children with cystic fibrosis

We assessed the serological responses over 10 years to repeated immunization of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with an O-polysaccharide (OPS)-toxin A conjugate vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A retrospective analysis was performed with sera from 25 vaccinated and 25 unvaccinated children treated at the same CF centre and matched for clinical management, age and gender. Yearly immunization led to sustained elevations of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels to all vaccine components. Eighteen unvaccinated patients but only eight vaccinated ones developed chronic pseudomonal lung infections. Infection rapidly caused further marked elevations of polysaccharide- but not toxin A-specific serum IgG in both immunized and nonimmunized patients, indicating that protection did not depend on the quantity of IgG present. However, qualitative analyses revealed that the protective capacity of specific serum IgG antibodies was linked to high affinity and to specificity for OPS serotypes rather than for lipopolysaccharide core epitopes.

Comparing Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine schedules: a systematic review and meta-analysis of vaccine trials

BACKGROUND The optimal schedule and the need for a booster dose are unclear for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccines. We systematically reviewed relative effects of Hib vaccine schedules. METHODS We searched 21 databases to May 2010 or June 2012 and selected randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized controlled trials that compared different Hib schedules (3 primary doses with no booster dose [3p+0], 3p+1 and 2p+1) or different intervals in primary schedules and between primary and booster schedules. Outcomes were clinical efficacy, nasopharyngeal carriage and immunological response. Results were combined in random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS Twenty trials from 15 countries were included; 16 used vaccines conjugated to tetanus toxoid (polyribosylribitol phosphate conjugated to tetanus toxoid). No trials assessed clinical or carriage outcomes. Twenty trials examined immunological outcomes and found few relevant differences. Comparing polyribosylribitol phosphate conjugated to tetanus toxoid 3p+0 with 2p+0, there was no difference in seropositivity at the 1.0 μg/mL threshold by 6 months after the last primary dose (combined risk difference -0.02; 95% confidence interval: -0.10, 0.06). Only small differences were seen between schedules starting at different ages, with different intervals between primary doses, or with different intervals between primary and booster doses. Individuals receiving a booster were more likely to be seropositive than those at the same age who did not. CONCLUSIONS There is no clear evidence from trials that any 2p+1, 3p+0 or 3p+1 schedule of Hib conjugate vaccine is likely to provide better protection against Hib disease than other schedules. Until more data become available, scheduling is likely to be determined by epidemiological and programmatic considerations in individual settings.

The implicit achievement motive predicts match performance and the explicit motive choices for goal distances in team sports

Motivational research over the past decade has provided ample evidence for the existence of two distinct motivational systems. Implicit motives are affect-based needs and have been found to predict spontaneous behavioral trends over time. Explicit motives in contrast represent cognitively based self-attributes and are preferably linked to choices. The present research examines the differentiating and predictive value of the implicit vs. explicit achievement motives for team sports performances. German students (N = 42) completed a measure of the implicit (Operant Motive Test) and the explicit achievement motive (Achievement Motive Scale-Sport). Choosing a goal distance is significantly predicted by the explicit achievement motive measure. By contrast, repeated performances in a team tournament are significantly predicted by the indirect measure. Results are in line with findings showing that implicit and explicit motive measures are associated with different classes of behavior.

Decrease in pneumococcal co-colonization following vaccination with the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Understanding the epidemiology of pneumococcal co-colonization is important for monitoring vaccine effectiveness and the occurrence of horizontal gene transfer between pneumococcal strains. In this study we aimed to evaluate the impact of the seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) on pneumococcal co-colonization among Portuguese children. Nasopharyngeal samples from children up to 6 years old yielding a pneumococcal culture were clustered into three groups: pre-vaccine era (n = 173), unvaccinated children of the vaccine era (n = 169), and fully vaccinated children (4 doses; n = 150). Co-colonization, serotype identification, and relative serotype abundance were detected by analysis of DNA of the total bacterial growth of the primary culture plate using the plyNCR-RFLP method and a molecular serotyping microarray-based strategy. The plyNCR-RFLP method detected an overall co-colonization rate of 20.1%. Microarray analysis confirmed the plyNCR-RFLP results. Vaccination status was the only factor found to be significantly associated with co-colonization: co-colonization rates were significantly lower (p = 0.004; Fisher's exact test) among fully vaccinated children (8.0%) than among children from the pre-PCV7 era (17.3%) or unvaccinated children of the PCV7 era (18.3%). In the PCV7 era there were significantly less non-vaccine type (NVT) co-colonization events than would be expected based on the NVT distribution observed in the pre-PCV7 era (p = 0.024). In conclusion, vaccination with PCV7 resulted in a lower co-colonization rate due to an asymmetric distribution between NVTs found in single and co-colonized samples. We propose that some NVTs prevalent in the PCV7 era are more competitive than others, hampering their co-existence in the same niche. This result may have important implications since a decrease in co-colonization events is expected to translate in decreased opportunities for horizontal gene transfer, hindering pneumococcal evolution events such as acquisition of antibiotic resistance determinants or capsular switch. This might represent a novel potential benefit of conjugate vaccines.

Direct in vitro and in vivo comparison of 161Tb and 177Lu using a tumour-targeting folate conjugate

Purpose The radiolanthanide 161Tb (T 1/2 = 6.90 days, Eβ− av = 154 keV) was recently proposed as a potential alternative to 177Lu (T 1/2 = 6.71 days, Eβ− av = 134 keV) due to similar physical decay characteristics but additional conversion and Auger electrons that may enhance the therapeutic efficacy. The goal of this study was to compare 161Tb and 177Lu in vitro and in vivo using a tumour-targeted DOTA-folate conjugate (cm09). Methods 161Tb-cm09 and 177Lu-cm09 were tested in vitro on folate receptor (FR)-positive KB and IGROV-1 cancer cells using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) viability assay. In vivo 161Tb-cm09 and 177Lu-cm09 (10 MBq, 0.5 nmol) were investigated in two different tumour mouse models with regard to the biodistribution, the possibility for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging and the antitumour efficacy. Potentially undesired side effects were monitored over 6 months by determination of plasma parameters and examination of kidney function with quantitative SPECT using 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). Results To obtain half-maximal inhibition of tumour cell viability a 4.5-fold (KB) and 1.7-fold (IGROV-1) lower radioactivity concentration was required for 161Tb-cm09 (IC50 ~0.014 MBq/ml and ~2.53 MBq/ml) compared to 177Lu-cm09 (IC50 ~0.063 MBq/ml and ~4.52 MBq/ml). SPECT imaging visualized tumours of mice with both radioconjugates. However, in therapy studies 161Tb-cm09 reduced tumour growth more efficiently than 177Lu-cm09. These findings were in line with the higher absorbed tumour dose for 161Tb-cm09 (3.3 Gy/MBq) compared to 177Lu-cm09 (2.4 Gy/MBq). None of the monitored parameters indicated signs of impaired kidney function over the whole time period of investigation after injection of the radiofolates. Conclusion Compared to 177Lu-cm09 we demonstrated equal imaging features for 161Tb-cm09 but an increased therapeutic efficacy for 161Tb-cm09 in both tumour cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Further preclinical studies using other tumour-targeting radioconjugates are clearly necessary to draw final conclusions about the future clinical perspectives of 161Tb.

Excitonic splittings in molecular dimers: why static ab initio calculations cannot match them

After decades of research on molecular excitons, only few molecular dimers are available on which exciton and vibronic coupling theories can be rigorously tested. In centrosymmetric H-bonded dimers consisting of identical (hetero)aromatic chromophores, the monomer electronic transition dipole moment vectors subtract or add, yielding S0 → S1 and S0 → S2 transitions that are symmetry-forbidden or -allowed, respectively. Symmetry breaking by 12C/13C or H/D isotopic substitution renders the forbidden transition weakly allowed. The excitonic coupling (Davydov splitting) can then be measured between the S0 → S1 and S0 → S2 vibrationless bands. We discuss the mass-specific excitonic spectra of five H-bonded dimers that are supersonically cooled to a few K and investigated using two-color resonant two-photon ionization spectroscopy. The excitonic splittings Δcalc predicted by ab initio methods are 5–25 times larger than the experimental excitonic splittings Δexp. The purely electronic ab initio splittings need to be reduced (“quenched”), reflecting the coupling of the electronic transition to the optically active vibrations of the monomers. The so-called quenching factors Γ < 1 can be determined from experiment (Γexp) and/or calculation (Γcalc). The vibronically quenched splittings Γ·Δcalc are found to nicely reproduce the experimental exciton splittings.

Alpha C protein of group B Streptococcus as a potential vaccine candidate

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of life-threatening infection in neonates and young infants, pregnant women, and non-pregnant adults with underlying medical conditions. Immunization has theoretical potential to prevent significant morbidity and mortality from GBS disease. Alpha C protein (α C), found in 70% of non-type III capsule polysaccharide group B Streptococcus, elicits antibodies protective against α C-expressing strains in experimental animals and is an appealing carrier for a GBS conjugate vaccine. We determined whether natural exposure to α C elicits antibodies in women and if high maternal α C-specific serum antibody at delivery is associated with protection against neonatal disease. An ELISA was designed to measure α C-specific IgM and IgG in human sera. A case-control design (1:3 ratio) was used to match α C-expressing GBS colonized and non-colonized women by age and compare quantified serum α C-specific IgM and IgG. Sera also were analyzed from bacteremic neonates and their mothers and from women with invasive GBS disease. Antibody concentrations were compared using t-tests on log-transformed data. Geometric mean concentrations of α C-specific IgM and IgG were similar in sera from 58 α C strain colonized and 174 age-matched non-colonized women (IgG 245 and 313 ng/ml; IgM 257 and 229 ng/ml, respectively). Delivery sera from mothers of 42 neonates with GBS α C sepsis had similar concentrations of α C-specific IgM (245 ng/ml) and IgG (371 ng/ml), but acute sera from 13 women with invasive α C-expressing GBS infection had significantly higher concentrations (IgM 383 and IgG 476 ng/ml [p=0.036 and 0.038, respectively]). Convalescent sera from 5 of these women 16-49 days later had high α C-specific IgM and IgG concentrations (1355 and 4173 ng/ml, respectively). In vitro killing of α C-expressing GBS correlated with total α C-specific antibody concentration. Invasive disease but not colonization elicits α C-specific IgM and IgG in adults. Whether α C-specific IgG induced by vaccine would protect against disease in neonates merits further investigation. ^

Match points used for synchronization of NGRIP, GRIP, and GISP2

We here present a synchronization of the NGRIP, GRIP, and GISP2 ice cores based mainly on volcanic events over the period 14.9-32.45 ka b2k (before AD 2000), corresponding to Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2) and the end of MIS 3. The matching provides a basis for applying the recent NGRIP-based Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) time scale to the GRIP and GISP2 ice cores, thereby making it possible to compare the synchronized palaeoclimate profiles of the cores in detail and to identify relative accumulation differences between the cores. Based on the matching, a period of anomalous high accumulation rates in the GISP2 ice core is detected within the period 16.5-18.3 ka b2k. The d18O and [Ca2+] profiles of the three cores are presented on the common GICC05 time scale and generally show excellent agreement across the stadial-interstadial transitions and across the two characteristic dust events in Greenland Stadial 3. However, large differences between the d18O and [Ca2+] profiles of the three cores are seen in the same period as the 7-9% increase in the GISP2 accumulation rate. We conclude that changes of the atmospheric circulation are likely to have occurred in this period, altering the spatial gradients in Greenland and resulting in larger variations between the records.

Heterogenous match efficiency

In this paper, we show a model with one-sided endogenous match efficiency. It is assumed that schooling can enhance match efficiency, and people will choose the schooling level optimally to balance its costs and benefits of enhanced match efficiency. Assuming a financial market imperfection which limits individuals to borrow, we showed that, in equilibrium, when educational achievements can be characterised by dicohotomy (secondary vs. tertiary), tertiary education gives higher wages even it only has pure match efficiency (signalling) value with no human capital value. We also showed that relative match efficiency vis-a-vis its mean matters in wage levels.