36 research outputs found
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Influence of inhaled Ca-DTPA on the long-term effects of inhaled Pu nitrate
Spin-fluctuations in the quarter-filled Hubbard ring : significances to LiVO
Using the quantum Monte Carlo method, we investigate the spin dynamics of
itinerant electrons in the one-dimensional Hubbard system. Based on the model
calculation, we have studied the spin-fluctuations in the quarter-filled
metallic Hubbard ring, which is aimed at the vanadium ring or chain defined
along corner-sharing tetrahedra of LiVO, and found the dramatic changes
of magnetic responses and spin-fluctuation characteristics with the
temperature. Such results can explain the central findings in the recent
neutron scattering experiment for LiVO.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Orbital state and magnetic properties of LiV_2 O_4
LiV_2 O_4 is one of the most puzzling compounds among transition metal oxides
because of its heavy fermion like behavior at low temperatures. In this paper
we present results for the orbital state and magnetic properties of LiV_2 O_4
obtained from a combination of density functional theory within the local
density approximation and dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). The DMFT
equations are solved by quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The trigonal crystal
field splits the V 3d orbitals such that the a_{1g} and e_{g}^{pi} orbitals
cross the Fermi level, with the former being slightly lower in energy and
narrower in bandwidth. In this situation, the d-d Coulomb interaction leads to
an almost localization of one electron per V ion in the a_{1g} orbital, while
the e_{g}^{pi} orbitals form relatively broad bands with 1/8 filling. 2The
theoretical high-temperature paramagnetic susceptibility chi(T) follows a
Curie-Weiss law with an effective paramagnetic moment p_{eff}=1.65 in agreement
with the experimental results.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, 2 table
Strengthening Causal Inference in Exposomics Research: Application of Genetic Data and Methods
Advances in technologies to measure a broad set of exposures have led to a range of exposome research efforts. Yet, these efforts have insufficiently integrated methods that incorporate genetic data to strengthen causal inference, despite evidence that many exposome-associated phenotypes are heritable. OBJECTIVE: We demonstrate how integration of methods and study designs that incorporate genetic data can strengthen causal inference in exposomics research by helping address six challenges: reverse causation and unmeasured confounding, comprehensive examination of phenotypic effects, low efficiency, replication, multilevel data integration, and characterization of tissue-specific effects. Examples are drawn from studies of biomarkers and health behaviors, exposure domains where the causal inference methods we describe are most often applied. DISCUSSION: Technological, computational, and statistical advances in genotyping, imputation, and analysis, combined with broad data sharing and cross-study collaborations, offer multiple opportunities to strengthen causal inference in exposomics research. Full application of these opportunities will require an expanded understanding of genetic variants that predict exposome phenotypes as well as an appreciation that the utility of genetic variants for causal inference will vary by exposure and may depend on large sample sizes. However, several of these challenges can be addressed through international scientific collaborations that prioritize data sharing. Ultimately, we anticipate that efforts to better integrate methods that incorporate genetic data will extend the reach of exposomics research by helping address the challenges of comprehensively measuring the exposome and its health effects across studies, the life course, and in varied contexts and diverse populations
A monovalent chimpanzee adenovirus Ebola vaccine boosted with MVA
BACKGROUND
The West African outbreak of Ebola virus disease that peaked in 2014 has caused more than 11,000 deaths. The development of an effective Ebola vaccine is a priority for control of a future outbreak.
METHODS
In this phase 1 study, we administered a single dose of the chimpanzee adenovirus 3 (ChAd3) vaccine encoding the surface glycoprotein of Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) to 60 healthy adult volunteers in Oxford, United Kingdom. The vaccine was administered in three dose levels — 1×1010 viral particles, 2.5×1010 viral particles, and 5×1010 viral particles — with 20 participants in each group. We then assessed the effect of adding a booster dose of a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) strain, encoding the same Ebola virus glyco- protein, in 30 of the 60 participants and evaluated a reduced prime–boost interval in another 16 participants. We also compared antibody responses to inactivated whole Ebola virus virions and neutralizing antibody activity with those observed in phase 1 studies of a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus–based vaccine expressing a ZEBOV glycoprotein (rVSV-ZEBOV) to determine relative potency and assess durability.
RESULTS
No safety concerns were identified at any of the dose levels studied. Four weeks after immunization with the ChAd3 vaccine, ZEBOV-specific antibody responses were similar to those induced by rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination, with a geometric mean titer of 752 and 921, respectively. ZEBOV neutralization activity was also similar with the two vaccines (geo- metric mean titer, 14.9 and 22.2, respectively). Boosting with the MVA vector increased virus-specific antibodies by a factor of 12 (geometric mean titer, 9007) and increased glycoprotein-specific CD8+ T cells by a factor of 5. Significant increases in neutralizing antibodies were seen after boosting in all 30 participants (geometric mean titer, 139; P<0.001). Virus-specific antibody responses in participants primed with ChAd3 remained positive 6 months after vaccination (geometric mean titer, 758) but were significantly higher in those who had received the MVA booster (geometric mean titer, 1750; P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
The ChAd3 vaccine boosted with MVA elicited B-cell and T-cell immune responses to ZEBOV that were superior to those induced by the ChAd3 vaccine alone. (Funded by the Wellcome Trust and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02240875.
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Development of a diagnostic model for inhaled promethium-147 oxide: animal studies
Rats and beagle dogs were exposed by inhalation to an aerosol containing stable SmO tagged with SmO and PmO. The animals were sacrificed at 0, 14 and 30 days post- exposure to compare the kinetics and translocation of Sm and Pm. Quantitative analysis for Sm and Pm in several tissues and excreta indicate that the two rare earth elements were mobilized and distributed similarly by the rats and dogs. Results indicate that within the error of the measurement technique, samarium acts as a carrier for promethium. The data also indicate that activities measured in fecal samples could be used to predict lung burdens of Pm. At activity levels and sintering temperatures employed in the rat exposures, there was sufficient activity in urine samples to permit its use as an indicator of lung burdens of Pm. At activity levels and sintering temperatures employed in the dog exposures, this was not the case. (auth