Combining Radiation- with Immunotherapy in Prostate Cancer: Influence of Radiation on T Cells

Radiation of tumor cells can lead to the selection and outgrowth of tumor escape variants. As radioresistant tumor cells are still sensitive to retargeting of T cells, it appears promising to combine radio- with immunotherapy keeping in mind that the radiation of tumors favors the local conditions for immunotherapy. However, radiation of solid tumors will not only hit the tumor cells but also the infiltrated immune cells. Therefore, we wanted to learn how radiation influences the functionality of T cells with respect to retargeting to tumor cells via a conventional bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) and our previously described modular BiTE format UNImAb. T cells were irradiated between 2 and 50 Gy. Low dose radiation of T cells up to about 20 Gy caused an increased release of the cytokines IL-2, TNF and interferon-γ and an improved capability to kill target cells. Although radiation with 50 Gy strongly reduced the function of the T cells, it did not completely abrogate the functionality of the T cells.     

Positive alcohol expectancies partially mediate the relation between delinquent behavior and alcohol use: Generalizability across age, sex, and race in a cohort of 85,000 Iowa schoolchildren.

The extent to which positive alcohol expectancies mediated the association between delinquency and alcohol use, as well as whether age, sex, or race moderated this mediational relation, was examined in a population-based sample of Iowa schoolchildren (N = 85,301) from the 6th, 8th, and 11th grades. Positive alcohol expectancies were found to partially mediate the association between delinquency and alcohol use (alcohol use initiation, past-month drinking, and past-month binge drinking) across the full sample and in each age, sex, and racial subgroup. Evidence for moderated mediation was found for age and race but not for sex, which suggests that the magnitude of the relations among delinquency, positive alcohol expectancies, and alcohol involvement is different in younger versus older children and White, African American, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic youths but is similar in boys versus girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term methane emissions from 2 dairy farms in California estimated by different measurement techniques and US Environmental Protection Agency inventory methodology: A case study

Reported estimates of CH₄ emissions from ruminants and manure management are up to 2 times higher in atmospheric top-down calculations than in bottom-up (BU) inventories. We explored this discrepancy by estimating CH₄ emissions of 2 dairy facilities in California with US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) methodology, which is used for BU inventories, and 3 independent measurement techniques: (1) open-path measurements with inverse dispersion modeling (hereafter open-path), (2) vehicle measurements with tracer flux ratio method, and (3) aircraft measurements with the closed-path method. All 3 techniques were used to estimate whole-facility CH₄ emissions during 3 to 6 d per farm in the summer of 2016. In addition, open-path was used to estimate whole-facility CH₄ emissions over 13 to 14 d per farm in the winter of 2017. Our objectives were to (1) compare whole-facility CH₄ measurements utilizing the different measurement techniques, (2) compare whole-facility CH₄ measurements to US EPA inventory methodology estimates, and (3) compare CH₄ emissions between 2 dairies. Whole-facility CH₄ estimates were similar among measurement techniques. No seasonality was detected for CH₄ emissions from animal housing, but CH₄ emissions from liquid manure storage were 3 to 6 times greater during the summer than during the winter measurement periods. The findings confirm previous studies showing that whole-facility CH₄ emissions need to be measured throughout the year to estimate and evaluate annual inventories. Open-path measurements for liquid manure storage emissions were similar to monthly US EPA estimates during the summer, but not during the winter measurement periods. However, the numerical difference was relatively small considering yearly emission estimates. Manure CH₄ emissions contributed 69 to 79% and 26 to 47% of whole-facility CH₄ emissions during the summer and winter measurement periods, respectively. Methane yields from animal housing were similar between farms (on average 20.9 g of CH₄/kg of dry matter intake), but CH₄ emissions normalized by volatile solids (VS) loading from liquid manure storage (g of CH₄ per day/kg of VS produced by all cattle per day) at 1 dairy were 1.7 and 3.5 times greater than at the other during the summer (234 vs. 137 g of CH₄/kg of VS) and winter measurement periods (78 vs. 22 g of CH₄/kg of VS), respectively. We attributed much of this difference to the proportion of manure stored in liquid (anaerobic) form, and suggest that manure management practices that reduce the amount of manure solids stored in liquid form could significantly reduce dairy CH₄ emissions.     

Stacked Ge nanocrystals with ultrathin SiO₂ separation layers

The aim of this work is the tailored growth of Ge nanocrystals (NCs) in (GeO(x)/SiO(2)) multilayers (ML) for photovoltaic applications. For this purpose the fabrication of regularly stacked Ge NCs separated by ultrathin SiO(2) layers is essential to enable charge carrier transport by direct tunnelling. In this paper we report on the fabrication of (GeO(x)/SiO(2))(50) multilayer stacks via reactive dc magnetron sputtering and Ge NCs formation after subsequent annealing. It is shown that magnetron sputtering allows us to deposit very regular ML stacks with a total thickness of about 300 nm, characterized by ultrathin (down to 1 nm) and very smooth (roughness ～ 0.6 nm) SiO(2) separation layers. A main challenge is to keep these properties for a thermal budget necessary to form Ge NCs. For this reason, the temperature dependence of phase separation. Ge crystallization and ML morphology was investigated by Rutherford backscattering, x-ray scattering, Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The formation of size confined Ge NCs of about 5 nm after annealing of only 550?°C is confirmed. This low thermal budget ensures the suppression of GeO emanation and multilayer stability. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was applied to determine the optical Ge NC bandgap to (1.65 ± 0.5) eV.     

Influence of hydrogen on thermally induced phase separation in GeO/SiO2 multilayers

The influence of the annealing atmosphere on the temperature induced phase separation of Ge oxide in GeO(x)/SiO(2) multilayers (x≈1), leading to size controlled growth of Ge nanocrystals, is explored by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Ge K-edge. Ge sub-oxides contained in the as-deposited multilayers diminish with increasing annealing temperature, showing complete phase separation at approximately 450?°C using inert N(2) ambient. The use of reducing H(2) in the annealing atmosphere influences the phase separation even at an early stage of the disproportionation. In particular, the temperature regime where the phase separation occurs is lowered by at least 50?°C. At temperatures above 400?°C the sublayer composition, and thus the density of the Ge nanocrystals, can be altered by making use of the reduction of GeO(2) by H(2).     

Transition metal catalyzed polymerisation of norbornene

Summary Metallocene/methylaluminoxane and single component Pd(II)-catalysts are compared to methylaluminoxane activated Ni and Pd-catalysts for the vinylpolymerisation of norbornene. Ni(II), Ni(0) and Pd(II)-compounds were found to be orders of magnitude more active than metallocenes and produce polymers of much higher molecular weights. Polymerisation kinetics for these systems have been studied in detail and reflected high initial activity followed by significant catalyst deactivation. Based on NMR-spectroscopy and WAXS five types of polynorbornenes have been identified and structures are proposed. Received: 4 June 1998/Revised version: 28 July 1998/Accepted: 28 July 1998     

A matrix-free approach for finite-strain hyperelastic problems using geometric multigrid

This work investigates matrix-free algorithms for problems in quasi-static finite-strain hyperelasticity. Iterative solvers with matrix-free operator evaluation have emerged as an attractive alternative to sparse matrices in the fluid dynamics and wave propagation communities because they significantly reduce the memory traffic, the limiting factor in classical finite element solvers. Specifically, we study different matrix-free realizations of the finite element tangent operator and determine whether generalized methods of incorporating complex constitutive behavior might be feasible. In order to improve the convergence behavior of iterative solvers, we also propose a method by which to construct level tangent operators and employ them to define a geometric multigrid preconditioner. The performance of the matrix-free operator and the geometric multigrid preconditioner is compared to the matrix-based implementation with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) preconditioner on a single node for a representative numerical example of a heterogeneous hyperelastic material in two and three dimensions. We find that matrix-free methods for finite-strain solid mechanics are very promising, outperforming linear matrix-based schemes by two to five times, and that it is possible to develop numerically efficient implementations that are independent of the hyperelastic constitutive law.     

Zerstörungsfreie Ortung von Fehlstellen und Inhomogenitäten in Bauteilen mit der Impuls‐Thermografie

Non‐destructive detection of voids and inhomogeneities in building structures using impulse thermography. In the frame of a research project funded by the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft” the application of impulse thermography for the non‐destructive testing of building components and buildings is further developed by the Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing (BAM) and the Technical University of Berlin (TUB). To this aim measurements to several practical problems of civil engineering were carried out. The inspected specimen is pulse heated according to the problem. The following cooling down process is recorded with an infrared camera. The transient behaviour is afterwards analysed by numerical methods in the time domain and by means of Pulse‐Phase‐Thermography in the frequency domain. Pulse‐Phase‐Thermography in particular reduces the influence of inhomogeneous surfaces and non‐uniform heating on thermographic measurements.