A New Exploration of Optimal IPR Protection and International Policy Cooperation

In this paper, a variety-expanding growth model has been constructed in the classical North-South framework. Optimal degree of IPR protection has been explicitly computed both for the North and the South in the sense of welfare maximizing, in the short run and non-short run of the economies. Endogenous innovation growth rate and the policy of innovation subsidy for the Southern government have been introduced into our model. The relationship between IPR protection and long-term growth rate has also been thoroughly investigated. Finally, the issue about international policy cooperation has been explored and we show that it is possible that an optimal degree of Southern IPR protection would also be globally efficient in some comparatively weak conditions

Power Optimization for Network Localization

Reliable and accurate localization of mobile objects is essential for many applications in wireless networks. In range-based localization, the position of the object can be inferred using the distance measurements from wireless signals exchanged with active objects or reflected by passive ones. Power allocation for ranging signals is important since it affects not only network lifetime and throughput but also localization accuracy. In this paper, we establish a unifying optimization framework for power allocation in both active and passive localization networks. In particular, we first determine the functional properties of the localization accuracy metric, which enable us to transform the power allocation problems into second-order cone programs (SOCPs). We then propose the robust counterparts of the problems in the presence of parameter uncertainty and develop asymptotically optimal and efficient near-optimal SOCP-based algorithms. Our simulation results validate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed algorithms.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

An escherichia coli vaccine co-expressing listeriolysin-O and tumour antigen in cancer immunotherapy and the mechanisms of immune regulation

PhDSome recombinant bacterial strains have been shown to be very efficient in experimental therapies against cancer in rodent models. Amongst them is an E. coli that expresses the Listeriolysin-O protein (LLO) and a model tumour antigen ovalbumin (OVA). I have demonstrated the efficacy of E. coli-LLO/OVA in preventive or therapeutic models against OVA-expressing tumours. This effect is mediated by specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) against OVA antigen and inhibition of the suppressive function of Foxp3+ T-regulatory (Treg) cells. When applying a “real” and clinically-relevant tumour antigen, Wilms’ tumour-1 antigen (WT1), this vaccine (E. coli-LLO/WT1) is capable of inducing an anti-tumour effect. Furthermore, we have characterised the immunodominant epitope involved in E. coli-LLO/WT1- immunisation (pWT130-138, NAPYLPSCL) through screening of a peptide library of the WT1 protein by cytokine ELISpot, lymphocyte stimulation effects, MHC stability, and specific cytotoxicity. Also, the effect on Treg when applying a real tumour antigen is still preserved. Co-injection of pWT130-138 with E. coli-LLO resulted in an anti-tumour effect equivalent to that obtained with E. coli-LLO/WT1, demonstrating that the adjuvant properties of the E. coli-LLO vaccine can be exploited in conjunction with peptides. Treg are recognised as playing important roles in immunotherapy. An ideal vaccine for cancer would stimulate specific cytotoxic responses and suppress Treg function. This study showed that E. coli-LLO vaccine suppresses Treg cell function and the Treg RNA microarray analysis revealed expression differences of some cytokine/chemokine genes which could be relevant to the reversal of Treg suppression. This may have important implications for developing anti-tumour vaccine strategies in humans. Overall, this study demonstrated that an E. coli-LLO vaccine is effective in cancer immunotherapy, either co-expressed with a real tumour antigen or co-injected with a peptide. The efficacy of this vaccine was due to its ability to dampen Treg suppressive function

Immune Regulation in Breast Cancer Metastasis and Immunotherapy

There are significant alterations in the tumor surrounding stromal cells in addition to the cancer cells in tumor microenvironment. Tumor cells can metastasize by acquiring the ability to escape immune control and surveillance. A decline in the ability of the immune cells to recognize and kill the tumor leads to tumor relapse or metastasis after primary treatment. Comprehensive review in this chapter will be conducted to further investigate into the mechanism of immune evasion in metastatic tumor microenvironment. The immune cells, stromal cells, extracellular matrix protein/component, and their interaction will be reviewed and summarized. Breast cancer has not been previously viewed as a particularly immunogenic type of tumor. Nevertheless, immune parameters have been increasingly studied in breast cancer, and accumulating data show that they are relevant for the development and progression of this tumor type. Consequently, immunotherapies of breast cancer are now tested in different clinical trials. The prospect of immunotherapy in metastatic breast cancer will be introduced. The importance of host‐targeted modulation/therapy will be increased in addition to cancer‐targeted strategies. We have to better define subpopulations of breast cancer patients to optimize the immunological way to overcome the cancer metastasis