Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel MUC1 glycopeptide conjugate vaccine candidate comprising a 4'-deoxy-4'-fluoro-Thomsen-Friedenreich epitope

The development of selective anticancer vaccines that provide enhanced protection against tumor recurrence and metastasis has been the subject of intense research in the scientific community. The tumor-associated glycoprotein MUC1 represents a well-established target for cancer immunotherapy and has been used for the construction of various synthetic vaccine candidates. However, many of these vaccine prototypes suffer from an inherent low immunogenicity and are susceptible to rapid in vivo degradation. To overcome these drawbacks, novel fluorinated MUC1 glycopeptide-BSA/TTox conjugate vaccines have been prepared. Immunization of mice with the 4' F-TF-MUC1-TTox conjugate resulted in strong immune responses overriding the natural tolerance against MUC1 and producing selective IgG antibodies that are cross-reactive with native MUC1 epitopes on MCF-7 human cancer cells

Hyperfine-interaction limits polarization entanglement of photons from semiconductor quantum dots

Excitons in quantum dots are excellent sources of polarization-entangled photon pairs, but a quantitative understanding of their interaction with the nuclear spin bath is still missing. Here we investigate the role of hyperfine energy shifts using experimentally accessible parameters and derive an upper limit to the achievable entanglement fidelity. Our results are consistent with all available literature, indicate that spin-noise is often the dominant process limiting the entanglement in InGaAs quantum dots, and suggest routes to alleviate its effect

The influence of long distance running on sonographic joint and tendon pathology: results from a prospective study with marathon runners

Background: The impact of physical exercise on joints and tendons is still a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to investigate with ultrasound the acute effects of extreme physical exercise on knee and ankle joints and their surrounding structures in trained athletes. Methods: Participants of the Munich marathon were examined by arthrosonography before and after long distance running. Ultrasound assessment included grey scale and power Doppler examination of the knee and talocrural joints with surrounding tendons. Findings consistent with joint effusion, tendon and/or entheseal pathologies were documented. In addition to the ultrasound evaluation, information on training habits and past or present arthralgia or joint swelling was gathered. Results: One Hundred Five runners completed both the pre- and post-excercise ultrasound assessments (baseline and follow-up), resulting in the sonographic evaluation of 420 knee and talocrural joints. At baseline, 105 knee (50) and 38 talocrural joints (18.1) showed effusions, compared to 100 knee (47.6) and 33 talocrural joints (15.7 %) at follow-up. The differences were not significant (p > 0.05 each). Effusion size did not correlate with the timepoint of ultrasound assessment and was independent of covariates such as gender, age or running distance. Hypervascularity of the patellar tendon was detected in 21 cases (10.0 %) at follow-up in contrast to one at baseline (p < 0.001). This observation was more frequent in male than in female participants (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Acute physical stress is significantly associated with hypervascularity of the patellar tendon. No significant changes of synovial effusion were detected in knee and talocrural joints

Effects of Explosion Asymmetry and Viewing Angle on the Type Ia Supernova Color and Luminosity Calibration

Phenomenological relations exist between the peak luminosity and other observables of type Ia supernovae (SNe~Ia), that allow one to standardize their peak luminosities. However, several issues are yet to be clarified: SNe~Ia show color variations after the standardization. Also, individual SNe~Ia can show residuals in their standardized peak absolute magnitude at the level of $\sim 0.15$ mag. In this paper, we explore how the color and luminosity residual are related to the wavelength shift of nebular emission lines observed at \gsim 150 days after maximum light. A sample of 11 SNe Ia which likely suffer from little host extinction indicates a correlation ($3.3\sigma$) between the peak $B-V$ color and the late-time emission-line shift. Furthermore, a nearly identical relation applies for a larger sample in which only three SNe with B-V \gsim 0.2 mag are excluded. Following the interpretation that the late-time emission-line shift is a tracer of the viewing direction from which an off-centre explosion is observed, we suggest that the viewing direction is a dominant factor controlling the SN color and that a large part of the color variations is intrinsic, rather than due to the host extinction. We also investigate a relation between the peak luminosity residuals and the wavelength shift in nebular emission lines in a sample of 20 SNe. We thereby found a hint of a correlation (at $\sim 1.6 \sigma$ level). The confirmation of this will require a future sample of SNe with more accurate distance estimates. Radiation transfer simulations for a toy explosion model where different viewing angles cause the late-time emission-line shift are presented, predicting a strong correlation between the color and shift, and a weaker one for the luminosity residual.Comment: Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 22 pages, 20 figures and 7 tabels (including appendix

Untersuchung des Gas-Flüssig-Stoffübergangs in berieselten Partikelschüttungen

Abweichender Titel nach Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersUnter Absorption versteht man die Aufnahme einer Komponente aus der Gasphase in einer Flüssigphase. Absorptionsprozesse sind keine neue Erfindung der Menschheit, in der Natur finden Absorptionsprozesse schon seit Anbeginn der Zeit statt. Der Mensch hat sich dieses Phänomen zu Nutzen gemacht um neue Produkte zu erstellen , die Wirtschaftlichkeit von Produktionsverfahren zu verbessern und den im Zuge der Produktion verursachten Schaden an der Natur wieder zu reduzieren. So entstanden über die Zeit viele verschiedene Arten von Absorbern, welche von diversen Vorund Nachteilen begleitet werden. In dieser Arbeit wird auf Rieselbettreaktoren eingegangen. Hierbei strömen ein oder mehrere Fluide durch eine feste Packung. Da der Stoffaustausch zwischen den verschiedenen Phasen vor allem von den Strömungsbedingungen in der Kolonne abhängt muss auf diese besonderes Augenmerk gerichtet werden. Aus diesem Grund wurde auf die Erforschung des hydrodynamische Verhalten der Prozesse schon viel Wert gelegt. Aufgabenstellung dieser Arbeit war, Daten zur Validierung eines Strömungssimulationsprogrammes zur Berechnung der Vorgänge während eines Absorptionsprozesses experimentell zu ermitteln. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine bestehende Labor-Blasensäule revitalisiert, umgebaut und als Rieselbettreaktor in Betrieb genommen. Der Korpus wurde mit inerten, kugelförmigem nicht porösem Bettmaterial gefüllt. Um das Verhalten der flüssigen Phase und den Stoffübergang analysieren zu können wurde die Kolonne mit verschiedenen Flüssigkeitsberieselungsdichten und unterschiedlichen Gas-flussraten betrieben, die im Gegenstrom aufgegeben wurden. Als Medien für diese Versuche dienten Leitungswasser und Luft. Als wesentliche Untersuchungsparameter wurde der Hold-Up des Wassers in der Packung und der Sauerstoffübergang zwischen beiden Phasen bei den diversen Betriebsbedingungen definiert. Zur Bestimmung der Flüssigkeitsverweilzeit un der axialen Rückvermischung des Reaktores zu ermitteln, wurde ein Tracerverfahren verwendet. Mittels eienr konzentrierten Salzlösung wurde ein Puls am Kolonnenkopf aufgegeben, die Pulsantwort wurde am Boden der Kolonne mittels Leitfähigkeitssonden gemessen. Zur Ermittlung des Sauerstoff-Phasenüberganges wurden zur Erstellung einer Stoffmengenbilanz je zwei Sauerstoffsensoren für die Flüssigund zwei für die Gasphase zur Datenerfassung herangezogen. Die analysierten Werte wurden mit bestehenden Korrelationen verglichen. Um die axiale Dispersion für die flüssige Phase zu bestimmen wurde die Verteilungsfunktion von Levenspiel ausgewählt. Diese wurde benutzt um charakteristische Parameter wie die mittlere Verweilzeit und den Dispersionskoeffizienten zu errechnen. Die Bodensteinund die Pecletzahl wurden als Kennzahlen herangezogen um die Ergebnisse mit den bestehenden Korrelationen vergleichen zu können. Die gefundenen Näherungen ergeben für bestimmte Bereiche gute Vorhersagen. Durch die Entwicklung von leistungsfähigerer Hardware und den damit steigenden Rechenkapazität erhählt die Berechnung von fluiddynamischen Problemen, mittels Computer, immer mehr Aufmerksamkeit. Diese Arbeit hat sich neben der durchgeführten Experimente auch mit der CFD (Computational Fuild Dynamics)-Simulation beschäftigt. Die Kugelpackung wurde mit Hilfe der diskreten Elemente Methode (DEM) erstellt. Die Simulation wurde mit OpenFOAM durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse dieser numerischen Berechnung stellt die Grundlage für weitere Arbeiten dar.Absorption is the ability of a component in the gas phase to dissolve into the liquid phase. Since begin of the time absorption is a natural phenomenon. This process is used by the humanity to build new products, increase the productivity and decrease the environmental pollution. Over the time different kind of absorber have been invented. Each type of these absorbers have different advantages and disadvantages. In this thesis the behavior of a trickle bed reactor is investigated. In this kind of absorber one or more fluid phases flow threw a fixed packed bed. The mass transfer in these reactors is dependent on the flow conditions of the fluid phases. The important hydrodynamic conditions of the trickle bed are investigated in this thesis. The task of this work was to evaluate data of the absorption process to validate the simulations of a computational simulation. For these investigations an existing laboratory bubble column is revitalized and rebuild to a trickle bed reactor. For the fixed bed spherical particles are used. These particles have a non porous and a non inert character. To investigate the behavior of the liquid phase in the trickle bed the experiments are done with different liquid and gas flow rates. For the experiments regular tab water and ambient air have been used. The hold-up of the liquid phase and the oxygen mass transfer in the trickle bed have been investigated for different flow conditions of the phases. For the hold-up experiments a tracer method was used. A salt solution was injected at the top of the column and the response was detected at the bottom of the trickle bed by a conductivity sensor. The mass transfer experiments were recorded with two oxygen sensors for the liquid and two oxygen sensors for the gas phase. The results of the recorded data are compared with existing correlations. To determine the axial dispersion of the liquid phase the approach of Levenspiel is used. This distribution function is used to evaluate the average residence time and the axial dispersion coefficient. To compare the results of the used setup with other cases the Bodenstein and Peclet number are used. These correlations deliver good approximations for certain flow conditions. The development of more powerful hardware and the increasing computing capacity, more attention on the calculation of fluid dynamic problems by computer can be paid. Next to the evaluation of the experimental data this thesis uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate this task. The sphere packing for the simulation is created by a discrete element method (DEM). For the numerical calculation the software OpenFOAM is used. This simulation is the base for further investigations.10

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel MUC1 glycopeptide conjugate vaccine candidate comprising a 4’-deoxy-4’-fluoro-Thomsen–Friedenreich epitope

The development of selective anticancer vaccines that provide enhanced protection against tumor recurrence and metastasis has been the subject of intense research in the scientific community. The tumor-associated glycoprotein MUC1 represents a well-established target for cancer immunotherapy and has been used for the construction of various synthetic vaccine candidates. However, many of these vaccine prototypes suffer from an inherent low immunogenicity and are susceptible to rapid in vivo degradation. To overcome these drawbacks, novel fluorinated MUC1 glycopeptide-BSA/TTox conjugate vaccines have been prepared. Immunization of mice with the 4’F-TF-MUC1-TTox conjugate resulted in strong immune responses overriding the natural tolerance against MUC1 and producing selective IgG antibodies that are cross-reactive with native MUC1 epitopes on MCF-7 human cancer cells