Passive immunotherapy for retroviral disease: influence of major histocompatibility complex type and T-cell responsiveness.

Administration of virus-specific antibodies is known to be an effective early treatment for some viral infections. Such immunotherapy probably acts by antibody-mediated neutralization of viral infectivity and is often thought to function independently of T-cell-mediated immune responses. In the present experiments, we studied passive antibody therapy using Friend murine leukemia virus complex as a model for an immunosuppressive retroviral disease in adult mice. The results showed that antibody therapy could induce recovery from a well-established retroviral infection. However, the success of therapy was dependent on the presence of both CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Thus, cell-mediated responses were required for recovery from infection even in the presence of therapeutic levels of antibody. The major histocompatibility type of the mice was also an important factor determining the relative success of antibody therapy in this system, but it was less critical for low-dose than for high-dose infections. Our results imply that limited T-cell responsiveness as dictated by major histocompatibility genes and/or stage of disease may have contributed to previous immunotherapy failures in AIDS patients. Possible strategies to improve the efficacy of future therapies are discussed.

Memory enhancement by intrahippocampal, intraamygdala, or intraentorhinal infusion of platelet-activating factor measured in an inhibitory avoidance task.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF; 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), which is thought to be a retrograde messenger in long-term potentiation (LTP), enhances glutamate release and LTP through an action on presynaptic nerve endings. The PAF antagonist BN 52021 blocks CA1 LTP in hippocampal slices, and, when infused into rat dorsal hippocampus pre- or posttraining, blocks retention of inhibitory avoidance. Here we report that memory is affected by pre- or posttraining infusion of the PAF analog 1-O-hexadecyl-2-N-methylcarbamoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine (mc-PAF) into either rat dorsal hippocampus, amygdala, or entorhinal cortex. Male Wistar rats were implanted bilaterally with cannulae in these brain regions. After recovery from surgery, the animals were trained in step-down inhibitory avoidance or in a spatial habituation task and tested for retention 24 h later. mc-PAF (1.0 microgram per side) enhanced retention test performance of the two tasks when infused into the hippocampus before training without altering training session performance. In addition, mc-PAF enhanced retention test performance of the avoidance task when infused into (i) the hippocampus 0 but not 60 min after training; (ii) the amygdala immediately after training; and (iii) the entorhinal cortex 100 but not 0 or 300 min after training. In confirmation of previous findings, BN 52021 (0.5 microgram per side) was found to be amnestic for the avoidance task when infused into the hippocampus or the amygdala immediately but not 30 or more minutes after training or into the entorhinal cortex 100 but not 0 or 300 min after training. These findings support the hypothesis that memory involves PAF-regulated events, possibly LTP, generated at the time of training in hippocampus and amygdala and 100 min later in the entorhinal cortex.

Large-scale clustering measurements with photometric redshifts: comparing the dark matter haloes of X-ray AGN, star-forming and passive galaxies at z ≈ 1

We combine multi-wavelength data in the AEGIS-XD and C-COSMOS surveys to measure the typical dark matter halo mass of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) [L_X(2–10 keV) > 10^42 erg s^− 1] in comparison with far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies detected in the Herschel/PEP survey (PACS Evolutionary Probe; L_IR > 10^11 L_⊙) and quiescent systems at z ≈ 1. We develop a novel method to measure the clustering of extragalactic populations that uses photometric redshift probability distribution functions in addition to any spectroscopy. This is advantageous in that all sources in the sample are used in the clustering analysis, not just the subset with secure spectroscopy. The method works best for large samples. The loss of accuracy because of the lack of spectroscopy is balanced by increasing the number of sources used to measure the clustering. We find that X-ray AGN, far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies and passive systems in the redshift interval 0.6 < z < 1.4 are found in haloes of similar mass, log M_DMH/(M_⊙ h^−1) ≈ 13.0. We argue that this is because the galaxies in all three samples (AGN, star-forming, passive) have similar stellar mass distributions, approximated by the J-band luminosity. Therefore, all galaxies that can potentially host X-ray AGN, because they have stellar masses in the appropriate range, live in dark matter haloes of log M_DMH/(M_⊙ h^−1) ≈ 13.0 independent of their star formation rates. This suggests that the stellar mass of X-ray AGN hosts is driving the observed clustering properties of this population. We also speculate that trends between AGN properties (e.g. luminosity, level of obscuration) and large-scale environment may be related to differences in the stellar mass of the host galaxies.

Evaluation of semi-passive treatment technologies for septic lagoon capacity expansion

In Canada, increases in rural development has led to a growing need to effectively manage the resulting municipal and city sewage without the addition of significant cost- and energy- expending infrastructure. Storring Septic Service Limited is a family-owned, licensed wastewater treatment facility located in eastern Ontario. It makes use of a passive waste stabilization pond system to treat and dispose of waste and wastewater in an environmentally responsible manner. Storring Septic, like many other similar small-scale wastewater treatment facilities across Canada, has the potential to act as a sustainable eco-engineered facility that municipalities and service providers could utilize to manage and dispose of their wastewater. However, it is of concern that the substantial inclusion of third party material could be detrimental to the stability and robustness of the pond system. In order to augment the capacity of the current facility, and ensure it remains a self-sustaining system with the capacity to safely accept septage from other sewage haulers, it was hypothesized that pond effluent treatment could be further enhanced through the incorporation of one of three different technology solutions, which would allow the reduction of wastewater quality parameters below existing regulatory effluent discharge limits put in place by Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). Two of these solutions make use of biofilm technologies in order to enhance the removal of wastewater parameters of interest, and the third utilizes the natural water filtration capabilities of zebra mussels. Pilot-scale testing investigated the effects of each of these technologies on treatment performance under both cold and warm weather operation. This research aimed to understand the important mechanisms behind biological filtration methods in order to choose and optimize the best treatment strategy for full-scale testing and implementation. In doing so, a recommendation matrix was elaborated provided with the potential to be used as a universal operational strategy for wastewater treatment facilities located in environments of similar climate and ecology.

The Politics of Budget Consolidation in Britain and Germany: the Impact of Blame-Avoidance Opportunities. CES Germany & Europe Working Papers, No. 05.2, 2005

According to parts of the literature, blame avoidance opportunities, i.e. the necessity and applicability of blame avoidance strategies, may differ among countries according to the respective institutional set-ups and between governing parties according to their programmatic orientation. In countries with many veto actors, a strategy of "Institutional Cooperation" among these actors is expected to diffuse blame sufficiently to render other blame avoidance strategies obsolete. In contrast, governments in Westminster democracies should resort to the more unilateral strategies of presentation, policy design and timing. At the same time, parties of the left are expected to have an easier time implementing spending cuts while right parties are less vulnerable when proposing tax increases. Evidence from the politics of budget consolidation in Britain and Germany does not corroborate these hypotheses. Instead, it seems that party competition conditions the effects institutions and the partisan complexion of governments have on the politics of blame avoidance.

The EU cannot remain a passive observer of the Karabakh conflict. EPC Commentary, 7 April 2016

When Federica Mogherini visited the South Caucasus in March, she was quoted as saying that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was a top priority for the EU. Facts, however, do not seem to match the words of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. As violent clashes in the conflict zone unfolded over the past week, the EU was a passive observer, with few visible signs of engagement apart from a cursory phone call urging Armenia and Azerbaijan to show restraint. The escalation has shown how quickly and dangerously the situation can develop, and the unassailable nature of the Line of Contact (LoC). If the diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict show no progress, a repetition is very probable. Furthermore, it is likely the next incident will be more devastating in human and material costs than this recent one, and may not be contained so quickly. The EU needs to be part of the renewed diplomatic effort.

Results of Minicars RSV crash avoidance tests conducted in West Germany.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Application of active and passive suspension techniques to improve high speed ground vehicle performance - phase II. Final report.

Transportation Department, Office of University Research, Washington, D.C.

Evaluation of passive belts for different size occupants. Final report supplement.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.