Numerical Analysis of Three-dimensional Acoustic Cloaks and Carpets

We start by a review of the chronology of mathematical results on the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map which paved the way towards the physics of transformational acoustics. We then rederive the expression for the (anisotropic) density and bulk modulus appearing in the pressure wave equation written in the transformed coordinates. A spherical acoustic cloak consisting of an alternation of homogeneous isotropic concentric layers is further proposed based on the effective medium theory. This cloak is characterised by a low reflection and good efficiency over a large bandwidth for both near and far fields, which approximates the ideal cloak with a inhomogeneous and anisotropic distribution of material parameters. The latter suffers from singular material parameters on its inner surface. This singularity depends upon the sharpness of corners, if the cloak has an irregular boundary, e.g. a polyhedron cloak becomes more and more singular when the number of vertices increases if it is star shaped. We thus analyse the acoustic response of a non-singular spherical cloak designed by blowing up a small ball instead of a point, as proposed in [Kohn, Shen, Vogelius, Weinstein, Inverse Problems 24, 015016, 2008]. The multilayered approximation of this cloak requires less extreme densities (especially for the lowest bound). Finally, we investigate another type of non-singular cloaks, known as invisibility carpets [Li and Pendry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 203901, 2008], which mimic the reflection by a flat ground.Comment: Latex, 21 pages, 7 Figures, last version submitted to Wave Motion. OCIS Codes: (000.3860) Mathematical methods in physics; (260.2110) Electromagnetic theory; (160.3918) Metamaterials; (160.1190) Anisotropic optical materials; (350.7420) Waves; (230.1040) Acousto-optical devices; (160.1050) Acousto-optical materials; (290.5839) Scattering,invisibility; (230.3205) Invisibility cloak

Zoonotic abbreviata caucasica in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) from Senegal

Abbreviata caucasica (syn. Physaloptera mordens) has been reported in human and various non-human primates including great apes. The identification of this nematode is seldom performed and relies on egg characterization at the coproscopy, in the absence of any molecular tool. Following the recovery of two adult females of A. caucasica from the feces of wild Senegalese chimpanzees, morphometric characteristics were reported and new data on the width of the esophagus (0.268– 0.287 mm) and on the cuticle structure (0.70–0.122 mm) were provided. The molecular characterization of a set of mitochondrial (cox1, 16S rRNA, 12S rRNA) and nuclear (18S rRNA and ITS2) partial genes was performed. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates for the first time that A. caucasica is monophyletic with Physaloptera species. A novel molecular tool was developed for the routine diagnosis of A. caucasica and the surveillance of Nematoda infestations. An A. caucasica-specific qPCR targeting the 12S gene was assessed. The assay was able to detect up to 1.13 × 10−3 eggs/g of fecal matter irrespective of its consistency, with an efficiency of 101.8% and a perfect adjustment (R2 = 0.99). The infection rate by A. caucasica in the chimpanzee fecal samples was 52.08%. Only 6.19% of the environmental samples were positive for nematode DNA and any for A. caucasica. Our findings indicate the need for further studies to clarify the epidemiology, circulation, life cycle, and possible pathological effects of this infestation using the molecular tool herein developed

Modelling the relationship between soil color and particle size for soil survey in Ferralsol environments

Soil texture is an important property for evaluating its inherent fertility especially by using pedo-transfers functions requiring particle size data. However, there is no existing quantitative method for in situ estimation of soil particle size, delaying judgement of soil chemical properties in the field. For this purpose, laboratory particle size analyses of 1028 samples from 281 Ferralsol profiles, located between latitudes 7º N and 10º N in Côte d’Ivoire and their respective colour notation by Munsell chart were used to generate prediction models. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis by Group was processed to identify clay, sand and silt contents in the soil based on color hue (2.5YR, 5YR, 7.5YR, and 10YR) and Chroma (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). The evaluation was conducted for each horizon coded as H1 (0-20 cm), H2 (20-60 cm), H3 (60-80 cm) and H4 (80-150 cm) and used as grouping variables. Highly significant (P< 0.001) models were identified for clay and sand. These models were used to estimate successfully clay and sand contents for other Ferralsol samples by comparing calculated and measured mean using the null hypothesis of difference and Tukey’s tests. They were accurate for at all depths, except 80 - 150 cm, for sand in 10YR soils. The method was deemed appropriate for in situ estimation of soil particle size contents in Ferralsol environment for improving reconnaissance agricultural soil surveys

Clinical Protection from Falciparum Malaria Correlates with Neutrophil Respiratory Bursts Induced by Merozoites Opsonized with Human Serum Antibodies

Background: Effective vaccines to combat malaria are urgently needed, but have proved elusive in the absence of validated correlates of natural immunity. Repeated blood stage infections induce antibodies considered to be the main arbiters of protection from pathology, but their essential functions have remained speculative. Methodology/Principal Findings: This study evaluated antibody dependent respiratory burst (ADRB) activity in polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) induced by Plasmodium falciparum merozoites and antibodies in the sera of two different African endemic populations, and investigated its association with naturally acquired clinical protection. Respiratory bursts by freshly isolated PMN were quantified by chemiluminescence readout in the presence of isoluminol, which preferentially detects extra-cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Using a standardized, high throughput protocol, 230 sera were analyzed from individuals of all age groups living in meso-(Ndiop) or holo-endemic (Dielmo) Senegalese villages, and enrolled in a cross-sectional prospective study with intensive follow-up. Statistical significance was determined using non-parametric tests and Poisson regression models. The most important finding was that PMN ADRB activity was correlated with acquired clinical protection from malaria in both high and low transmission areas (P = 0.006 and 0.036 respectively). Strikingly, individuals in Dielmo with dichotomized high ADRB indexes were seventeen fold less susceptible to malaria attacks (P = 0.006). Complementary results showed that ADRB activity was (i) dependent on intact merozoites and IgG opsonins, but not parasitized erythrocytes, or complement, (ii) correlated with merozoite specific cytophilic IgG1 and IgG3 antibody titers (P < 0.001 for both), and (iii) stronger in antisera from a holo-endemic compared to a meso-endemic site (P = 0.002), and reduced in asymptomatic carriers (P < 0.001). Conclusions/Significance: This work presents the first clearly demonstrated functional antibody immune correlate of clinical protection from Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and begs the question regarding the importance of ADRB by PMN for immune protection against malaria in vivo