CFD simulation of nanofiber-enhanced air filter media

The first step in a CFD analysis of filter media flow is to create a computational domain geometry which imitates the simulated media as closely as is practical. The media in the present study combined a relatively flat web of nanofibers with a cellulosic fiber support media. A CFD grid suited to calculating the flow patterns through the cellulosic media structure would be far too coarse to simulate flow around the nanofiber web elements. This scale difference forces some assumption about the interaction between the media layers. Our models are limited to two dimensions, representing cross-sections cut through the media. Our initial studies modeled the nanofiber web alone, on the assumption that the flow around the nanofibers is not greatly influenced by the presence of the downstream cellulosic fibers. Our image-analysis technique samples the distribution of fiber diameters by scribing parallel lines across the image. The diameter of the web element at each line/fiber crossing is tabulated. An estimate is made of the maximum width on the image for which the web element cross-section can be considered circular. We make the assumption that the relatively flat web elements linking round sections have oval cross-sections, all of the same thickness. We found that the distribution of web element widths is “doubly-truncated log-normal”, meaning that both lower and upper limits to the widths exist. This geometry was used with a CFD code to calculate particle capture, and compared to results of tests on the actual media

Rhesus macaques self-curing from a schistosome infection can display complete immunity to challenge

To date there is only one single drug with modest efficacy and no vaccine available to protect from schistosomiasis. Here, Amaral et al. characterize the self-cure process of rhesus macaques following primary infection and secondary challenge with Schistosoma mansoni to inform future vaccine development studies.The rhesus macaque provides a unique model of acquired immunity against schistosomes, which afflict >200 million people worldwide. By monitoring bloodstream levels of parasite-gut-derived antigen, we show that from week 10 onwards an established infection with Schistosoma mansoni is cleared in an exponential manner, eliciting resistance to reinfection. Secondary challenge at week 42 demonstrates that protection is strong in all animals and complete in some. Antibody profiles suggest that antigens mediating protection are the released products of developing schistosomula. In culture they are killed by addition of rhesus plasma, collected from week 8 post-infection onwards, and even more efficiently with post-challenge plasma. Furthermore, cultured schistosomula lose chromatin activating marks at the transcription start site of genes related to worm development and show decreased expression of genes related to lysosomes and lytic vacuoles involved with autophagy. Overall, our results indicate that enhanced antibody responses against the challenge migrating larvae mediate the naturally acquired protective immunity and will inform the route to an effective vaccine.Cancer Signaling networks and Molecular Therapeutic

Access to infertility consultations: what women tell us about it?

The main objective of the present paper is to evaluate the perception of women concerning the barriers and access to infertility consultations. Socio cultural and economic access to infertility consultations is detached and three municipalities of the northwest of Portugal were chosen as an example of a peripheral country. A quantitative/qualitative study was done with 60 women. Three dimensions were evaluated: geographic and structural and functional access; economic access; and sociocultural access. The main barriers were mainly identified in the last two dimensions. The economic access was the less well evaluated by women being the cost of treatment (medication, and concentration of costs in a short period) difficult to bear. This can justify a greater involvement of the Portuguese Government, by developing policies for the reimbursement of part of the costs. Also, some changes in structural and functional access must be done with special regard to the separation of the infertility consultations from the reproductive medicine section. The setting of the teams, with a follow-up by the same team of health professionals is also needed

Cosmological Applications of Gravitational Lensing

The last decade has seen an enormous increase of activity in the field of gravitational lensing, mainly driven by improvements of observational capabilities. I will review the basics of gravitational lens theory, just enough to understand the rest of this contribution, and will then concentrate on several of the main applications in cosmology. Cluster lensing, and weak lensing, will constitute the main part of this review.Comment: 26 pages, including 2 figures (a third figure can be obtained from the author by request) gziped and uuencoded postscript file; to be published in Proceedings of the Laredo Advanced Summer School, Sept. 9