Cell-mediated immunological responses in cervical and vaginal cancer patients immunized with a lipidated epitope of human papillomavirus type 16 E7

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been causally associated with cervical cancer. We tested the effectiveness of an HLA-A*0201-restricted, HPV-16 E7 lipopeptide vaccine in eliciting cellular immune responses in vivo in women with refractory cervical cancer. In a nonrandomized Phase I clinical trial, 12 women expressing the HLA-A2 allele with refractory cervical or vaginal cancer were vaccinated with four E786-93 lipopeptide inoculations at 3-week intervals. HLA-A2 subtyping was also performed, and HPV typing was assessed on tumor specimens. Induction of epitope-specific CD8+ T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses was analyzed using peripheral blood leukapheresis specimens obtained before and after vaccination. CTL specificity was measured by IFN-gamma release assay using HLA-A*0201 matched target cells. Clinical responses were assessed by physical examination and radiographic images. All HLA-A*0201 patients were able to mount a cellular immune response to a control peptide. E786-93-specific CTLs were elicited in 4 of 10 evaluable HLA-A*0201 subjects before vaccination, 5 of 7 evaluable HLA-A*0201 patients after two vaccinations, and 2 of 3 evaluable HLA-A*0201 cultures after all four inoculations. Two of three evaluable patients' CTLs converted from unreactive to reactive after administration of all four inoculations. There were no clinical responses or treatment toxicities. The ability to generate specific cellular immune responses is retained in patients with advanced cervical cancer. Vaccination with a lipidated HPV peptide epitope appears capable of safely augmenting CTL reactivity. Although enhancements of cellular immune responses are needed to achieve therapeutic utility in advanced cervical cancer, this approach might prove useful in treating preinvasive disease.     

Clarification of a wheat straw‐derived medium with ion‐exchange resins for xylitol crystallization

BACKGROUND: Xylitol bioproduction from lignocellulosic residues comprises hydrolysis of the hemicellulose, detoxification of the hydrolysate, bioconversion of the xylose, and recovery of xylitol from the fermented hydrolysate. There are relatively few reports on xylitol recovery from fermented media. In the present study, ion‐exchange resins were used to clarify a fermented wheat straw hemicellulosic hydrolysate, which was then vacuum‐concentrated and submitted to cooling in the presence of ethanol for xylitol crystallization. RESULTS: Sequential adsorption into two anion‐exchange resins (A‐860S and A‐500PS) promoted considerable reductions in the content of soluble by‐products (up to 97.5%) and in medium coloration (99.5%). Vacuum concentration led to a dark‐colored viscous solution that inhibited xylitol crystallization. This inhibition could be overcome by mixing the concentrated medium with a commercial xylitol solution. Such a strategy led to xylitol crystals with up to 95.9% purity. The crystallization yield (43.5%) was close to that observed when using commercial xylitol solution (51.4%). CONCLUSION: The experimental data demonstrate the feasibility of using ion‐exchange resins followed by cooling in the presence of ethanol as a strategy to promote the fast recovery and purification of xylitol from hemicellulose‐derived fermentation media. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

,,Rich Internet Applications“ – Eine perfekte Kombination benutzerfreundlicher Schnittstellen mit Webtechnologie

Zusammenfassung  ,,Rich Internet Applications“ (RIA) sind Webapplikationen, die mit einer wesentlich interaktiveren Benutzerschnittstelle ausgestattet sind, als wir das bisher von den auf HTML basierten ,,poor ugly web applications“ (PUWA) gewohnt waren.     

Wave propagation by the passage of two high-speed trains in a tunnel

A numerical simulation of unsteady compressible flow induced by two high-speed trains in oncoming traffic within a tunnel is presented. The computations were carried out by means of a second-order accurate Harten-Yee type upwind TVD scheme. In order to take the effect of friction into account, a source term is included in the governing flow equations. In the computation, moving boundary configurations were used to simulate the two trains passing through the tunnel. As geometrical configuration, the Einmalberg tunnel, where experimental data are available, was selected. The computational results agree reasonably well with their experimental counter-part. The waves interaction and the waves propagation process at the tunnel entrance and exit as well as within the tunnel are addressed. Finally, the influence on the transmitted waves at the tunnel exit portal and the variation of the negative pressure drop during the passage of the two trains are discussed.     

Systemised serendipity for producing computer art

Serendipity applied to Newton's method, and its derivative the Secant Method, produces unusual and beautiful fractal patterns. Serendipity may be systemised, for example, by the introduction of a perturbation parameter P1, [1] to facilitate searches for interesting pattern variations.     

Performance of a non‐load‐bearing steel stud gypsum board wall assembly: Experiments and modelling

A gypsum wall assembly was exposed to an intense real‐scale compartment fire. For the wall assembly, temperatures were measured at the exposed face, within the stud cavity, and at the unexposed face during the fire exposure. Total heat flux gauges were used to measure the temporal variation of the energy incident on the walls, and cameras, both visual and infrared, were used to image the unexposed face of the wall assembly during the fire exposure. The behaviour of the wall assembly under the fire load is discussed as are current model results for a simulation of the fire test. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.