A Low-Speed Experimental Investigation of the Effect of a Sandpaper Type of Roughness on Boundary-Layer Transition

An investigation was made in the Langley low-turbulence pressure tunnel to determine the effect of size and location of a sandpaper type of roughness on the Reynolds number for transition. Transition was observed by means of a hot-wire anemometer located at various chordwise stations for each position of the roughness. These observations indicated that when the roughness is sufficiently submerged in the boundary layer to provide a substantially linear variation of boundary-layer velocity with distance from the surface up to the top of the roughness, turbulent "spots" begin to appear immediately behind the roughness when the Reynolds number based on the velocity at the top of the roughness height exceeds a value of approximately 600. At Reynolds numbers even slightly below the critical value (value for transition), the sandpaper type of roughness introduced no measurable disturbances into the laminar layer downstream of the roughness. The extent of the roughness area does not appear to have an important effect on the critical value of the roughness Reynolds number

Preliminary Investigation in the NACA Low-Turbulence Tunnel of Low-drag Airfoil Sections Suitable for Admitting Air at the Leading Edge

An investigation was carried out in the NACA low-turbulence tunnel to develop low-drag airfoil sections suitable for admitting air at the leading edge. A thickness distribution having the desired type of pressure distribution was found from tests of a flexible model. Other airfoil shapes were derived from this original shape by varying the thickness, the camper, the leading-edge radius, and the size of the leading-edge opening. Data are presented giving the characteristics of the airfoil shapes in the range of lift coefficients for high-speed and cruising flight. Shapes have been developed which show no substantial increases in drag over that of the same position along the chord. Many of these shapes appear to have higher critical compressibility speeds than plain airfoils of the same thickness. Low-drag airfoil sections have been developed with openings in the leading edge as large as 41.5 percent of the maximum thickness. The range of lift coefficients for low drag in several cases is nearly as large as that of the corresponding plain airfoil sections. Preliminary measurements of maximum lift characteristics indicate that nose-opening sections of the type herein considered may not produce any marked effects on the maximum lift coefficient

A Novel High Throughput Assay for Anthelmintic Drug Screening and Resistance Diagnosis by Real-Time Monitoring of Parasite Motility

Parasitic worms cause untold morbidity and mortality on billions of people and livestock. Drugs are available but resistance is problematic in livestock parasites and is a looming threat for human helminths. Currently, new drug discovery and resistance monitoring is hindered as drug efficacy is assessed by observing motility or development of parasites using laborious, subjective, low-throughput methods evaluated by eye using microscopy. Here we describe a novel application for a cell monitoring device (xCELLigence) that can simply and objectively assess real time anti-parasite efficacy of drugs on eggs, larvae and adults in a fully automated, label-free, high-throughput fashion. This technique overcomes the current low-throughput bottleneck in anthelmintic drug development and resistance detection pipelines. The widespread use of this device to screen for new therapeutics or emerging drug resistance will be an invaluable asset in the fight against human, animal and plant parasitic helminths and other pathogens that plague our planet

A Research Agenda for Helminth Diseases of Humans: Intervention for Control and Elimination

Recognising the burden helminth infections impose on human populations, and particularly the poor, major intervention programmes have been launched to control onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, schistosomiasis, and cysticercosis. The Disease Reference Group on Helminth Infections (DRG4), established in 2009 by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), was given the mandate to review helminthiases research and identify research priorities and gaps. A summary of current helminth control initiatives is presented and available tools are described. Most of these programmes are highly dependent on mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelmintic drugs (donated or available at low cost) and require annual or biannual treatment of large numbers of at-risk populations, over prolonged periods of time. The continuation of prolonged MDA with a limited number of anthelmintics greatly increases the probability that drug resistance will develop, which would raise serious problems for continuation of control and the achievement of elimination. Most initiatives have focussed on a single type of helminth infection, but recognition of co-endemicity and polyparasitism is leading to more integration of control. An understanding of the implications of control integration for implementation, treatment coverage, combination of pharmaceuticals, and monitoring is needed. To achieve the goals of morbidity reduction or elimination of infection, novel tools need to be developed, including more efficacious drugs, vaccines, and/or antivectorial agents, new diagnostics for infection and assessment of drug efficacy, and markers for possible anthelmintic resistance. In addition, there is a need for the development of new formulations of some existing anthelmintics (e.g., paediatric formulations). To achieve ultimate elimination of helminth parasites, treatments for the above mentioned helminthiases, and for taeniasis and food-borne trematodiases, will need to be integrated with monitoring, education, sanitation, access to health services, and where appropriate, vector control or reduction of the parasite reservoir in alternative hosts. Based on an analysis of current knowledge gaps and identification of priorities, a research and development agenda for intervention tools considered necessary for control and elimination of human helminthiases is presented, and the challenges to be confronted are discussed

Immunological and parasitological parameters after treatment with dexamethasone in murine Schistosoma mansoni

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of diphenyl dimethyl bicarboxylate (DDB) and dexamethasone alone and in combination with praziquantel on various parasitological, immunological and pathological parameters reflecting disease severity and morbidity in murine schistosomiasis. DDB and dexamethasone had no effect on worm burden but altered tissue egg distribution. This indicates that, under the schedule used, neither drug interfered with the development of adult worms or oviposition, but both can modulate liver pathology. Dexamethasone resulted in a greater reduction in granuloma size than did DDB. Dexamethasone-treated mice also showed lower levels of serum gamma interferon (IFN-γ), interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-4, together with higher IL-10 levels, than infected untreated control animals. These data suggest that dexamethasone is a convenient and promising coadjuvant agent that results in decreased morbidity in murine schistosomiasis