Dielectric properties of PVDF based thin films and electrospun mats

Dielectric properties of polyvinylidene fluoride based thin films and electrospun mats have been studied. Frequency dependences of samples capacity and tangent of dielectric losses have been obtained. The influence of trifluoroethylene presence in copolymer on dielectric properties has been investigated. Efficiency of using deposited contacts instead of pressed contacts was considered. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Multivariate modeling of retaining walls

When designing a parking lot of limited size with a large elevation difference, a decision to construct an earth embankment with a retaining wall was made. Based on the analysis of the results of engineering geological surveys and construction conditions, four options of constructing a retaining wall were considered. The stress-strain states of the protective structures and embankments were studied in details with the help of finite element modeling in order to select the optimal technical solutions for retaining walls. Based on the analysis of the distribution of stresses and strains in the structures, the advantages and disadvantages of each option are determined. The optimal combined version of constructing a thin retaining wall with unloading screens and hardening of the embankment by means of anchor-injectors is substantiated

Investigation of Inhibitor Polyphosphate Properties for Rotating Steel Disk Electrode in Potassium Nitrate Solution

Inhibition properties of a number of glass-like polyphosphates on 65J steel were investigated using the gravimetry and methods potassium nitrate solution polarization curves in a 0,1M (pH=6,05). The possibilities of optimum experimental conditions were considered as well. Basing on the experimental data the inhibition coefficient and protective effect were found. The inhibiting action of polyphosphates, apparently, is due to the formation of inhomogeneous protecting film on the steel surface

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Application of remote sensing and mathematical morphology of landscape for studying thermokarst processes

The purpose of this work is to study the development and regularity of morphological structures associated with thermokarst processes. An attempt is made to solve two problems, by analyzing the spatial regularity of morphological structures associated with thermokarst, and that of their dynamics. We use the method of landscape mathematical morphology - a branch of landscape science, investigating quantitative laws of landscape mosaics using methods of mathematical analysis of these mosaics. Investigation was carried out for five parcels in Siberia and Alaska. The analysis shows that a number of deductions from the proposed mathematical model for thermokarst lake plains are generally corroborated by empirical data

Radiative transition probabilities of CO2+

Radiative transition probabilities (Einstein A coefficients), Franck-Condon factors, and radiative lifetimes have been determined for the X 3 0f, 3\u3a3-, a1\u3a3 +,1 0f, C1\u394, and A3\u3a3 + states of the CO2+ dication using ab initio potential energy, spin-orbit coupling, electric dipole and electronic transition moment functions, and the standard complex-scaling method. The calculated radiative lifetimes of the upper electronic states of the spin-allowed A 3\u3a3+-X3 0f and b1 0f-a1\u3a3+ transitions are generally longer than their predissociating lifetimes, explaining thus the failure of the attempts made so far to observe CO2+ in the optical spectral region in a convincing fashion

Approximate Analytical Models of Shock-Wave Structure at Steady Mach Reflection

In this study, we obtain the comparative analysis of methods of quick approximate analytical prediction of Mach shock height in planar steady supersonic flows (for example, in supersonic jet flow and in narrowing channel between two wedges), that are developed since the 1980s and being actively modernized now. A new analytical model based on flow averaging downstream curved Mach shock is proposed, which seems more accurate than preceding models, comparing with numerical and experimental data

Simulation of an explosion-proof bin made of relaxation material

The article discusses the numerical simulation of a blast wave interaction with a relaxation multiphase material used in design of the destructible protection bin with combined method of suppression of the blast damage effects. Numerical simulation of shock-wave systems and processes occurring during the detonation of a condensed high explosive (HE) in semi-open (open at the top) explosion-proof bins was obtained, including when one which uses multiphase gas-liquid material (at a first approximation – water-bubble mechanical foam) as relaxation substance that absorbs the explosion energy and thus reduces the damaging effect of the blast waves