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

Life Cycle Testing of Hermetic Compressors With Alternatives to CFC-12

Life cycle tests of hermetic compressors were conducted using a specially designed test rig that employs a gas cycle. They were conducted at an ambient temperature of 50"C and suction and discharge pressures of 2.2 bar and 18.5 bar respectively. The oil temperature was maintained between 80- I 00"C. The duration of test was 2000h.After completion of the test, the oil samples were tested for total acid number and metal contents (Cu, Fe and Al). Any chemical degradation of refrigerant sample was assessed using NMR and F T-IR spectroscopes. The wear effects of compressor parts were measured using perthography.An assessment of conventional mineral oil with CF C-12 and various grades of hydrocarbon (HC-290 and HC-600a) blends including DIN grade, CARE-30, a blend of HC-290/HC-600a from Indian sources, destenched LPG, and commercial grade LPG has been done. HFC-134a and Polyol ester oil (POE) combination has also been studied. The comprehensive test results from the above assessment and comparative ratings are presente

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA" lang="EN-US">Age, growth and mortality studies of Indian<span style="font-size:15.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US"> squid, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvauceli</span></i><span style="font-size:14.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US"> <span style="font-size:15.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:#292526;mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">(d’ Orbigny)</span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:15.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:#292526;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA" lang="EN-US"> <span style="font-size:15.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: AR-SA" lang="EN-US">along Ratnagiri Coast of Maharashtra, India</span></span>

93-96<span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-us;="" mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"="" lang="EN-US">The study on the growth and mortality of <span style="font-size: 9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:="" "times="" roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";color:black;="" mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US">Indian squid Uroteuthis duvauceli<span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-us;="" mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">was carried out based on the length frequency data collected during February 2012 to January 2013. Using ELEFAN, the asymptotic length ((L∞)) and growth coefficient (K) were estimated as 376 mm and 0.95 yr-1 respectively. Using the von Bertalanffy’s Growth Formula (VBGF), it is seen that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">L. duvauceli attain 233, 324 and 355 mm at the end of Ist – IIIrd years respectively.<span style="color:black;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The total, natural and fishing mortalities were 4.5, 1.82 and 2.68 yr-1 respectively. The Lc50 was found to be 107 mm. <span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:="" "times="" roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:="" en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="">The exploitation rate (U) and exploitation ratio (E) was calculated 0.53 and 0.54 <span style="font-size:9.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:="" en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US">respectively<span style="font-size:9.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:calibri;="" mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-in;="" mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="">. The value of E max in the present study is lower than exploitation ratio E of 0.54.This indicates that to maximize the yield per recruit from L. duvauceli the efforts may be reduced from the present E of 0.54 to  0<span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";color:black;mso-ansi-language:en-us;="" mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US"> .5 to sustain the stock.</span

Characterization of bacterial community associated with phytoplankton bloom in a eutrophic lake in South Norway using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence analysis

<div><p>Interactions between different phytoplankton taxa and heterotrophic bacterial communities within aquatic environments can differentially support growth of various heterotrophic bacterial species. In this study, phytoplankton diversity was studied using traditional microscopic techniques and the bacterial communities associated with phytoplankton bloom were studied using High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons from the V1-V3 and V3-V4 hypervariable regions. Samples were collected from Lake Akersvannet, a eutrophic lake in South Norway, during the growth season from June to August 2013. Microscopic examination revealed that the phytoplankton community was mostly represented by <i>Cyanobacteria</i> and the dinoflagellate <i>Ceratium hirundinella</i>. The HTS results revealed that <i>Proteobacteria (Alpha</i>, <i>Beta</i>, <i>and Gamma)</i>, <i>Bacteriodetes</i>, <i>Cyanobacteria</i>, <i>Actinobacteria</i> and <i>Verrucomicrobia</i> dominated the bacterial community, with varying relative abundances throughout the sampling season. Species level identification of <i>Cyanobacteria</i> showed a mixed population of <i>Aphanizomenon flos-aquae</i>, <i>Microcystis aeruginosa</i> and <i>Woronichinia naegeliana</i>. A significant proportion of the microbial community was composed of unclassified taxa which might represent locally adapted freshwater bacterial groups. Comparison of cyanobacterial species composition from HTS and microscopy revealed quantitative discrepancies, indicating a need for cross validation of results. To our knowledge, this is the first study that uses HTS methods for studying the bacterial community associated with phytoplankton blooms in a Norwegian lake. The study demonstrates the value of considering results from multiple methods when studying bacterial communities.</p></div