Cancer vaccines: uses of HLA transgenic mice compared to genetically modified mice

Many tumor antigens have been identified that can be targeted by the immune system. Animal models that have been genetically modified to express human HLA molecules instead of their own MHC antigens have shown to be valuable in the discovery of peptides derived from tumor antigens many of which have since been used in clinical trials with varying degrees of success. Although these models are not perfect, they nonetheless allow transplantable tumor models to be developed to evaluate novel vaccination strategies that can then be applied in humans. In addition animals that have been genetically modified to “spontaneously” generate tumors that will grow within their correct environment are of greater value for studying angiogenesis, metastasis and the relationship between the immune system and tumor in a physiological setting. In this review, mice genetically modified to express HLA genes or to spontaneously develop tumors are discussed, highlighting their advantages and limitations as preclinical models for cancer immunotherapy

Analysis of boundary-domain integral and integro-differential equations for a Dirichlet problem with variable coefficient

Copyright @ 2005 Birkhäuse

Localized direct boundary–domain integro–differential formulations for scalar nonlinear boundary-value problems with variable coefficients

Mixed boundary-value Problems (BVPs) for a second-order quasi-linear elliptic partial differential equation with variable coefficients dependent on the unknown solution and its gradient are considered. Localized parametrices of auxiliary linear partial differential equations along with different combinations of the Green identities for the original and auxiliary equations are used to reduce the BVPs to direct or two-operator direct quasi-linear localized boundary-domain integro-differential equations (LBDIDEs). Different parametrix localizations are discussed, and the corresponding nonlinear LBDIDEs are presented. Mesh-based and mesh-less algorithms for the LBDIDE discretization are described that reduce the LBDIDEs to sparse systems of quasi-linear algebraic equations

Localized boundary-domain integral formulations for problems with variable coefficients

Specially constructed localized parametrixes are used in this paper instead of a fundamental solution to reduce a boundary value problem with variable coefficients to a localized boundary-domain integral or integro-differential equation (LBDIE or LBDIDE). After discretization, this results in a sparsely populated system of linear algebraic equations, which can be solved by well-known efficient methods. This make the method competitive with the finite element method for such problems. Some methods of the parametrix localization are discussed and the corresponding LBDIEs and LBDIDEs are introduced. Both mesh-based and meshless algorithms for the localized equations discretization are described

Jury of your peers?

Midwifery lecturer Sarah Davies reports on the NMC’s case against Debs Purdue

Direct localized boundary-domain integro-differential formulations for physically nonlinear elasticity of inhomogeneous body

A static mixed boundary value problem (BVP) of physically nonlinear elasticity for a continuously inhomogeneous body is considered. Using the two-operator Green-Betti formula and the fundamental solution of an auxiliary linear operator, a non-standard boundary-domain integro-differential formulation of the problem is presented, with respect to the displacements and their gradients. Using a cut-off function approach, the corresponding localized parametrix is constructed to reduce the nonlinear BVP to a nonlinear localized boundary-domain integro-differential equation. Algorithms of mesh-based and mesh-less discretizations are presented resulting in sparsely populated systems of nonlinear algebraic equations

Analysis of extended boundary-domain integral and integro-differential equations of some variable-coefficient BVP

For a function from the Sobolev space H1(Ω) definitions of non-unique external and unique internal co-normal derivatives are considered, which are related to possible extensions of a partial differential operator and its right hand side from the domain Ω, where they are prescribed, to the domain boundary, where they are not. The notions are then applied to formulation and analysis of direct boundary-domain integral and integro-differential equations (BDIEs and BDIDEs) based on a specially constructed parametrix and associated with the Dirichlet boundary value problems for the "Laplace" linear differential equation with a variable coefficient and a rather general right hand side. The BDI(D)Es contain potential-type integral operators defined on the domain under consideration and acting on the unknown solution, as well as integral operators defined on the boundary and acting on the trace and/or co-normal derivative of the unknown solution or on an auxiliary function. Solvability, solution uniqueness, and equivalence of the BDIEs/BDIDEs/BDIDPs to the original BVP are investigated in appropriate Sobolev spaces