322 research outputs found
Therapeutic vaccination of woodchucks against chronic woodchuck hepatitis virus infection
BACKGROUND/AIMS:
Therapeutic vaccination is a new approach to treat patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. We have used the woodchuck model to examine the efficacy and safety of this approach.
METHODS:
Seven woodchucks chronically infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus were immunized with surface antigen from this virus, purified from plasma, in conjunction with a peptide named FIS (encompassing amino acids 106-118: FISEAIIHVLHSR from sperm whale myoglobin), which is recognized by T helper lymphocytes. As controls, two woodchucks chronically infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus were immunized: one with FIS only and the other with surface antigen only.
RESULTS:
Co-immunization with surface antigen and FIS, but not with FIS or surface antigen alone, induced anti-surface antibodies in 7/7 immunized woodchucks. In the two woodchucks in which the highest titer of anti-surface antibody was elicited, severe liver damage was observed: one died of fulminant hepatitis and the other became seriously ill with hepatic injury and had to be sacrificed.
CONCLUSIONS:
Co-immunization of chronically infected woodchucks with surface antigen and a peptide recognized by T helper cells produces a good anti-surface antibody response. However, this strategy needs to be optimized before its implementation in humans. Although our experiments are not strictly comparable to vaccination of chronically hepatitis B virus-infected patients with recombinant or plasma-derived vaccines, we believe that precautions should be taken to avoid the risk of severe liver injury when immunizing hepatitis B virus carriers
Semiclassical approach to the thermodynamics of spin chains
Using the PQSCHA semiclassical method, we evaluate thermodynamic quantities
of one-dimensional Heisenberg ferro- and antiferromagnets. Since the PQSCHA
reduces their evaluation to classical-like calculations, we take advantage of
Fisher's exact solution to get all results in an almost fully analytical way.
Explicitly considered here are the specific heat, the correlations length and
susceptibility. Good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations is found for S>1
antiferromagnets, showing that the relevance of the topological terms and of
the Haldane gap is significant only for the lowest spin values and
temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
Cognitive function and lifetime features of depression and bipolar disorder in a large population sample: Cross-sectional study of 143,828 UK Biobank participants
Quantum Monte Carlo with Directed Loops
We introduce the concept of directed loops in stochastic series expansion and
path integral quantum Monte Carlo methods. Using the detailed balance rules for
directed loops, we show that it is possible to smoothly connect generally
applicable simulation schemes (in which it is necessary to include
back-tracking processes in the loop construction) to more restricted loop
algorithms that can be constructed only for a limited range of Hamiltonians
(where back-tracking can be avoided). The "algorithmic discontinuities" between
general and special points (or regions) in parameter space can hence be
eliminated. As a specific example, we consider the anisotropic S=1/2 Heisenberg
antiferromagnet in an external magnetic field. We show that directed loop
simulations are very efficient for the full range of magnetic fields (zero to
the saturation point) and anisotropies. In particular for weak fields and
anisotropies, the autocorrelations are significantly reduced relative to those
of previous approaches. The back-tracking probability vanishes continuously as
the isotropic Heisenberg point is approached. For the XY-model, we show that
back-tracking can be avoided for all fields extending up to the saturation
field. The method is hence particularly efficient in this case. We use directed
loop simulations to study the magnetization process in the 2D Heisenberg model
at very low temperatures. For LxL lattices with L up to 64, we utilize the
step-structure in the magnetization curve to extract gaps between different
spin sectors. Finite-size scaling of the gaps gives an accurate estimate of the
transverse susceptibility in the thermodynamic limit: chi_perp = 0.0659 +-
0.0002.Comment: v2: Revised and expanded discussion of detailed balance, error in
algorithmic phase diagram corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev.
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A multilevel neo-institutional analysis of infection prevention and control in English hospitals: coerced safety culture change?
Despite committed policy, regulative and professional efforts on healthcare safety, little is known about how such macro-interventions permeate organisations and shape culture over time. Informed by neo-institutional theory, we examined how inter-organisational influences shaped safety practices and inter-subjective meanings following efforts for coerced culture change. We traced macro-influences from 2000 to 2015 in infection prevention and control (IPC). Safety perceptions and meanings were inductively analysed from 130 in-depth qualitative interviews with senior- and middle-level managers from 30 English hospitals. A total of 869 institutional interventions were identified; 69% had a regulative component. In this context of forced implementation of safety practices, staff experienced inherent tensions concerning the scope of safety, their ability to be open and prioritisation of external mandates over local need. These tensions stemmed from conflicts among three co-existing institutional logics prevalent in the NHS. In response to requests for change, staff flexibly drew from a repertoire of cognitive, material and symbolic resources within and outside their organisations. They crafted 'strategies of action', guided by a situated assessment of first-hand practice experiences complementing collective evaluations of interventions such as 'pragmatic', 'sensible' and also 'legitimate'. Macro-institutional forces exerted influence either directly on individuals or indirectly by enriching the organisational cultural repertoire
Technique for Resolving Low-lying Isomers in the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) and the Occurrence of an Isomeric State in 192Re
A recent experiment using projectile fragmentation of a 197Au beam on a 9Be target, combined with the fragment recoil separator and experimental storage ring at ring at GSI, has uncovered an isomeric state in 192Re at 267(10) keV with a half-life of âŒ6
Increased isomeric lifetime of hydrogen-like Os-192m
An excited metastable nuclear state of 192 Os in a hydrogen-like charge state has been studied for the first time. It was populated in projectile fragmentation of a 197Au beam on a 9Be target with the UNILAC-SIS accelerators at GSI. Fragmentation products in the region of interest were passed through the fragment separator and injected into the experimental storage ring (ESR). Cooling of the injected beam particles enabled Schottky mass spectrometry to be performed. Analysis shows the lifetime of the state to be considerably longer than that of the neutral ion [Ïneut=8.5(14) s]; this change is attributed to hindrance of internal conversion in hydrogen-like 192Os. Calculations have been performed to estimate the lifetime, and the result has been compared with that measured experimentally. There is good agreement between the expected [ÏHâlike=13.0(24)s] and measured lifetimes (Ïrest=15.1+1.5â1.3s) from the internal decay of 192mOs. This provides a test for the reliability of the values obtained from internal conversion coefficient calculations in highly ionized systems and is the first measurement of its kind to be performed using the ESR setup
Octupole correlations in the structure of O2 bands in the N=88 nuclei150Sm Gd
Knowledge of the exact microscopic structure of the 01
+ ground state and first excited 02
+ state in 150Sm is
required to understand the branching of double ÎČ decay to these states from 150Nd. The detailed spectroscopy of
150Sm and 152Gd has been studied using (α,xn) reactions and the γ -ray arrays AFRODITE and JUROGAM II.
Consistently strong E1 transitions are observed between the excited KÏ = 02
+ bands and the lowest negative
parity bands in both nuclei. These results are discussed in terms of the possible permanent octupole deformation
in the first excited KÏ = 02
+ band and also in terms of the âtidal waveâ model of Frauendorf.Web of Scienc
IN-SYNC. V. Stellar Kinematics and Dynamics in the Orion A Molecular Cloud
Interstellar matter and star formatio
Planet-compatible pathways for transitioning the chemical industry
Chemical products, such as plastics, solvents, and fertilizers, are essential for supporting modern lifestyles. Yet, producing, using, and disposing of chemicals creates adverse environmental impacts which threaten the industryâs license to operate. This study presents seven planet-compatible pathways toward 2050 employing demand-side and supply-side interventions with cumulative total investment costs of US$1.2â3.7 trillion. Resource efficiency and circularity interventions reduce global chemicals demand by 23 to 33% and are critical for mitigating risks associated with using fossil feedstocks and carbon capture and sequestration, and constraints on available biogenic and recyclate feedstocks. Replacing fossil feedstocks with biogenic/air-capture sources, shifting carbon destinations from the atmosphere to ground, and electrifying/decarbonizing energy supply for production technologies could enable net negative emissions of 0.5 GtCO2eq yâ1 across non-ammonia chemicals, while still delivering essential chemical-based services to society
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