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Abstract It is recommended that the adjuvant Montanide ISA 720 VG be used at a concentration of 70% v/v. At this concentration, Montanide causes at the site of immunization a local granuloma that can last for several weeks. To determine the safety and protective efficacy of a Chlamydia muridarum MOMP vaccine, formulated with CpG-1826 and four different concentrations of Montanide (70%, 50%, 30% and 10%), BALB/c (H-2d) female mice were immunized twice intramuscularly. Local reactogenicity was significant for vaccines formulated with 70% or 50% Montanide but not for those inoculated with 30% or 10% Montanide. Robust humoral and cell mediated memory immune responses were elicited by the 70%, 50% and 30% Montanide formulations. Mice were challenged intranasally with 104 C. muridarum inclusion forming units (IFU). Based on changes in body weight, lungs’s weight and number of IFU recovered, mice vaccinated with the 70%, 50% and 30% Montanide formulations were significantly protected, but not mice receiving 10% Montanide. To conclude, we recommend the 30% Montanide concentration to be tested in humans and animal models to determine its safety and efficacy, in comparison to the 70% Montanide concentration currently used. The 30% Montanide formulation could significantly facilitate licensing of this adjuvant for human use.

Bamboo is highly regarded for its rich nutritional value and versatility as a sustainable resource. Its unique nutraceutical properties contribute to various pharmacological effects, making it a standout in natural health and wellness. This study compared elemental, nutritional, and phytochemical characteristics of ten bamboo species (Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa spinosa, Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa textilis, Dendrocalamus strictus, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus giganteus, Thyrsostachys siamensis and Fargesia nitida) collected from the Niyamgiri Hill Range in Western Odisha, India. We conducted a systematic ethnobotanical survey to collect the selected bamboo samples from the study region. Nutritional, phytochemical and elemental analyses were performed to evaluate mineral content, macronutrients, micronutrients and phytochemical composition in aqueous extract of bamboo shoots of different species. Bambusa vulgaris emerged as the most ethnopharmacologically significant bamboo species, exhibiting a cultural index of 0.96. It displayed higher levels of key nutritional and phytochemical components, including crude fibre, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin and total energy, than the other species. Additionally, Bambusa vulgaris contained substantial quantities of essential minerals, such as potassium, phosphorus, iron, copper, calcium and magnesium. These findings offer valuable insights into the diversity of these bamboo species and their potential applications in nutrition and industry. The composition and quantitative determination of specific compounds provide useful insights that could reveal their potential uses and aid in developing new drugs and formulations, contributing to sustainable resource utilization.

The present numerical work investigates the effect of finned structures on the passive thermal management of cylindrical Lithium-ion batteries. Novel hexagonal thermal conduction networks using metal fins are proposed. The electrochemical-thermal coupling for the numerical modeling is achieved using the Newman-Tiedemann-Gu-Kim (NTGK) semi-empirical method extended with the enthalpy model to incorporate phase change materials. Firstly, the effect of the different structures on the thermal behavior and the delivered capacity for a high discharge rate of 4 C is analyzed. The addition of base PCM (phase change materials) decreases the overall increase in temperature by about 71.9 %, and up to 75.58 % for the optimal thermal conduction network. The finned structures also show more temperature uniformity in the battery module. Next, the effect of the ambient temperature on the thermal performance of the proposed designs is shown. Further, the behavior of the enhanced system is studied under a stressed discharge rate of 6 C and an abuse discharge rate of 8 C. The study is further extended to examine the viability of the proposed battery thermal management system (BTMS) when the cell arrangement is externally shorted with a small resistance of 0.5 Ω. Based on the numerical analysis the proposed designs perform well.

Background:Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted pathogen in humans worldwide. Since chlamydial infection is largely asymptomatic with the potential for serious complications, a preventative vaccine is likely the most viable long-term answer to this public health threat. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) utilizes the cellular protein manufacturing machinery decoupled from the requirement for maintaining cellular viability, offering the potential for flexible, rapid, and decentralized production of recombinant protein vaccine antigens. Methods: Here, we use CFPS to produce the full-length putative chlamydial type three secretion system (T3SS) needle-tip protein, CT584, for evaluation as a vaccine antigen in mouse models. High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) (RIBM, Tsukuba, Japan) imaging and computer simulations confirm that CFPS-produced CT584 retains a native-like structure prior to immunization. Female mice were primed with CT584 adjuvanted with CpG-1826 intranasally (i.n.) or CpG-1826 + Montanide ISA 720 intramuscularly (i.m.), followed four weeks later by an i.m. boost before respiratory challenge with 104 inclusion forming units (IFU) of Chlamydia muridarum. Results: Immunization with CT584 generated robust antibody responses but weak cell-mediated immunity and failed to protect against i.n. challenge as demonstrated by body weight loss, increased lung weights, and the presence of high numbers of IFUs in the lungs. Conclusion: While CT584 was not a protective vaccine candidate, the speed and flexibility with which CFPS can be used to produce other potential chlamydial antigens make it an attractive technique for antigen production.

Antigen display on outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) can be difficult to control and highly variable. Here, the authors describe a universal approach called AvidVax for linking biotinylated antigens to the exterior of OMVs and enabling rapid vaccine assembly.

Fundamental understanding on the enhancement of heat transfer rate and decreasing the maximum operating temperature is crucial for proper design of thermal systems. The present study discusses the influence of non-uniform heating on the forced convective flow of nanofluid through converging miniduct. Numerical simulations are performed using the Euler-Lagrangian two-phase flow model by finite volume method to find the effects of Reynolds number (Re), nanofluid volume fraction (φ), and amplitude (A) of sinusoidal heat flux on the heat transfer. The effect of various parameters on the magnitude of crest and trough of local Nusselt numbers is found to be a crucial factor in determining the total heat transfer. The results indicate a considerable increase in average Nusselt number (Nuav) with φ and Re. At Re = 100 the increments in Nuav are 3.4%, 6.7%, and 13.4% when φ is increased from 0 to 1, 3, and 5%, respectively, while it increases by 107%, 114%, and 116% for amplitudes of 0, 0.75, and 1, respectively, when Re is increased from 100 to 800. Increasing A reduces the heat transfer rate. The highest performance factor is found to be 0.945 at Re = 600, φ = 5% and A = 0.

There is an urgent need to produce a vaccine for Chlamydia trachomatis infections. Here, using the Chlamydia muridarum major outer membrane protein (MOMP) as an antigen, four adjuvant combinations IVAX-1 (MPLA+CpG-1018+AddaVax), IVAX-2 (MPLA+CpG-1018+AS03), CpG-1826+Montanide ISA 720 VG (CpG-1826+Mont) and CpG-1018+Montanide ISA 720 VG (CpG-1018+Mont), were tested for their local reactogenicity and ability to elicit protection in BALB/c mice against a respiratory challenge with C. muridarum. Immunization with IVAX-1 or IVAX-2 induced no significant local reactogenicity following intramuscular immunization. In contrast, vaccines containing Montanide resulted in the formation of a local granuloma. Based on the IgG2a/IgG1 ratio in serum, the four adjuvant combinations elicited Th1-biased responses. IVAX-1 induced the highest in vitro neutralization titers while CpG-1018+Mont stimulated the lowest. As determined by the levels of IFN-γ produced by T-cells, the most robust cellular immune responses were elicited in mice immunized with CpG-1018+Mont, while the weakest responses were mounted by mice receiving IVAX-1. Following the respiratory challenge, mice immunized with CpG-1018+Mont lost the least amount of body weight and had the lowest number of C. muridarum inclusion-forming units (IFUs) in the lungs, while those receiving IVAX-2 had lost the most weight and had the highest number of IFUs in their lungs. Animals vaccinated with CpG-1826+Mont had the lightest lungs while those immunized using IVAX-2 had the heaviest. To conclude, due to their safety and adjuvanticity, IVAX formulations should be considered for inclusion in human vaccines against Chlamydia.

This article introduces researchers in the science concerned with developing and studying research methods, measurement, and evaluation (RMME) to the educational data mining (EDM) community. It assumes that the audience is familiar with traditional priorities of statistical analyses, such as accurately estimating model parameters and inferences from those models. Instead, this article focuses on data mining's adoption of statistics and machine learning to produce cutting-edge methods in educational contexts. It answers three questions: (1) What are the primary interests of EDM and RMME researchers?; (2) What is their discipline-specific vocabulary?; and (3) What are the similarities and differences in how the EDM and RMME communities analyze similar types of data?

Site-selective C–H functionalization still faces some challenges, such as the introduction and removal of an appropriate directing group. Here, the authors introduce a temporary directing group for selective meta-C–H functionalization of 2-arylbenzaldehydes via reversible imine formation.

The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the quality of oils extracted from yellow and purple passion fruit seeds endemic to Northeast India. In this context, physicochemical properties (acid value, iodine value, etc), thermo physical analysis such as TGA and DSC was performed. Further, the antioxidant properties of seed oils were determined by TPC, TFC, DPPH and ABTS.+ analysis and their interrelation was analysed from Pearson correlation. Lower acid value (2–4.4 mg KOH g−1) and peroxide value (4.2–4.5 mg eq 1000 g−1) confirmed the good quality of oil. The thermal stability of different oils was found to be in the high range of 334.4 °C to 349.5 °C. Fatty acid composition of oils by GC analysis revealed abundance presence of approximately 70% of PUFA and the calculated oxidizability value suggested high oxidative stability in the oils. The universal oil quality score was observed to be high (>50%) when compared to other standard edible oil. Lowest radical inhibitory concentration was observed in yellow passion fruit seed oil from Manipur (70.7 ± 1.7 µg/ml in DPPH and 85.3 ± 5.5 µg/ml in ABTS). Profound antibacterial activity of oils was observed against K. Pneumonia (7.5 ± 0.35 to 12 ± 0.7 cm), B. Subtilis (5 ± 0.7 to 11 ± 0.7 cm), P. aeruginosa (2 to 11.5 ± 0.7 cm) and M. luteus (5 to 10 ± 0.7 cm). This work could add more information on uncommon passion fruit seed oil from Northeast India and further employ in various food and pharmaceutical sectors.

In this work, we investigate the hydrothermal characteristics for laminar forced convective flow of water through sinusoidal asymmetric wavy channel of three types: linearly increasing amplitude channel (LIAC), linearly decreasing amplitude channel (LDAC) and constant amplitude channel (CAC). The computed velocity and temperature fields are analyzed by varying the Reynolds number (Re) and slope (A) of the linearly varying amplitude in the following ranges: 5 ≤ Re ≤ 200 and 0.02≤ A ≤ 0.04. The value of average Nusselt number is almost independent on the geometry of the channel at lower values of Re and A. At higher Re values, the average Nusselt number is the highest for LIAC followed by LDAC, and CAC. The combined effects of heat transfer increase in the wavy channel compared to plane channel and the associated pumping power is assessed using performance parameter (PF). For lower Re values the highest PF is obtained for CAC. For higher values of Re the PF is the largest for LDAC at A = 0.02 and 0.03, and the value of PF for A = 0.04 is the highest for CAC.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually-transmitted pathogen for which there is no vaccine. We previously demonstrated that the degree of phosphate substitution in an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant in a TLR-4-based C. trachomatis serovar E (Ser E) recombinant major outer membrane protein (rMOMP) formulation had an impact on the induced antibody titers and IFN-γ levels. Here, we have extended these observations using outbreed CD-1 mice immunized with C. trachomatis Ser E rMOMP formulations to evaluate the impact on bacterial challenge. The results confirmed that the rMOMP vaccine containing the adjuvant with the highest phosphate substitution induced the highest neutralizing antibody titers while the formulation with the lowest phosphate substitution induced the highest IFN-γ production. The most robust protection was observed in mice vaccinated with the formulation containing the adjuvant with the lowest phosphate substitution, as shown by the number of mice with positive vaginal cultures, number of positive cultures and number of C. trachomatis inclusion forming units recovered. This is the first report showing that vaccination of an outbred strain of mice with rMOMP induces protection against a vaginal challenge with C. trachomatis.

The present numerical study investigates unsteady natural convection heat transfer within a square-shaped porous confinement with four heated cylinders. Simulations are performed for different cylinder spacings by arranging the cylinders along the enclosure diagonals in a rectangular array for different Darcy numbers (Da) and Rayleigh numbers (Ra). The positions of cylinders within the enclosure are limited to 0.3 ≤ S (= sH /L = sV /L) ≤ 0.6 and for each rectangular array computations were performed for 103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106 and 10−4 ≤ Da ≤ 10−2. Results reveal that conduction mode heat transfer dominates within the enclosure at Ra ≤ 104 irrespective of Da, whereas for Da = 10−3, 10−2, convective heat transfer prevails for high Ra (105, 106) values. With the increase in Ra up to Ra ≥ 105, the temperature and flow fields lose symmetry about the vertical centerline of the enclosure. For Ra = 106 and Da = 10−2 the change in time-averaged Nusselt number Nut with cylinder spacing is insignificant for all cylinders, whereas for Da = 10−3 Nut at the lower cylinders decreases slightly between S = 0.3 and 0.4 and then increases slightly up to S = 0.6.

This two-dimensional numerical study investigates magnetohydrodynamic unsteady natural convection heat transfer inside an enclosure with two heated circular cylinders within it in the horizontal mid-plane. The fluid is incompressible and Newtonian. The governing transport equations based on the conservations of mass, momentum and energy are computationally solved using a finite element based numerical solver for the following range of parameters: dimensionless spacing between the cylinders S = 0.1–0.5, Rayleigh number Ra = 103–106 and Hartmann number Ha = 0–120. The results show that for lower values of Ra the heat transfer remains unaltered by the imposed magnetic field for a specific value of S as the transport mechanism is diffusion, while, for higher Ra, there is a complex interaction between the magnetic field and the physico-thermal properties that determines the heat transfer rate. For lower Ra the time-averaged Nusselt number (Nut) remains almost unaltered with Ha. However, at higher Ra, Nut initially decreases with Ha and then remains approximately constant and the transition between conductive and convective heat transfer occurs at higher Ra values. Moreover, for higher Ra, Nut decreases somewhat initially with the increase of S from 0.1 to 0.2 and thereafter, Nut slightly increases with S.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted pathogen. The number of chlamydial infections continuous to increase and there is an urgent need for a safe and efficacious vaccine. To assess the ability of the Chlamydia muridarum polymorphic membrane protein G (PmpG) and the plasmid glycoprotein 3 (Pgp3) as single antigens, and in combination with the major outer-membrane protein (MOMP) to induce protection, BALB/c mice were immunized utilizing CpG-1826 and Montanide ISA 720 VG as adjuvants. Following vaccination with MOMP, significant humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were observed, while immunization with PmpG, or Pgp3, elicited weaker immune responses. Weaker immune responses were induced with MOMP+Pgp3 compared with MOMP alone. Following the intranasal challenge with C. muridarum, mice vaccinated with MOMP showed robust protection against body-weight loss, inflammatory responses in the lungs and number of Chlamydia recovered from the lungs. PmpG and Pgp3 elicited weaker protective responses. Mice immunized with MOMP+PmpG, were no better protected than animals vaccinated with MOMP only, while Pgp3 antagonized the protection elicited by MOMP. In conclusion, PmpG and Pgp3 elicited limited protective immune responses in mice against a respiratory challenge with C. muridarum and failed to enhance the protection induced by MOMP alone. The virulence of Pgp3 may result from its antagonistic effect on the immune protection induced by MOMP.

The present numerical work investigates the magnetohydrodynamic buoyancy driven thermal energy transport inside a copper-water nanofluid filled quadrantal enclosure. The base of the enclosure is subjected to constant temperature heating, while the vertical wall is maintained at a uniform cold temperature and the curved wall is insulated. The results are enumerated for the following range of parameters: 103 ≤ Rayleigh number (Ra) ≤ 106, 0 ≤ Hartmann number (Ha) ≤ 100 and 0 ≤ volume fraction of nanoparticles (ϕ) ≤ 0.05. It reveals that the average Nusselt number is a function of ϕ and it shows an increase with ϕ. Further, it is also observed that the average Nusselt number decreases with Ha and the change is more profound at higher Ra (105 and 106) values. The heat transfer rate is increased by decreasing the sector angle of enclosure and vice versa. In this way not only Ra, ϕ, Ha influence the heat transfer rate but a geometry variation has an equal role to play in the alteration of heat transfer.

A worldwide estimate of over one million STIs are acquired daily and there is a desperate need for effective preventive as well as therapeutic measures to curtail this global health burden. Vaccines have been the most effective means for the control and potential eradication of infectious diseases; however, the development of vaccines against STIs has been a daunting task requiring extensive research for the development of safe and efficacious formulations. Nanoparticle-based vaccines represent a promising platform as they offer benefits such as targeted antigen presentation and delivery, co-localized antigen-adjuvant combinations for enhanced immunogenicity, and can be designed to be biologically inert. Here we discuss promising types of nanoparticles along with outcomes from nanoparticle-based vaccine preclinical studies against non-viral STIs including chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, and recommendations for future nanoparticle-based vaccines against STIs.

To identify immunodominant antigens that elicit a humoral immune response following a primary and a secondary genital infection, rhesus monkeys were inoculated cervically with Chlamydia trachomatis serovar D. Serum samples were collected and probed with a protein microarray expressing 864/894 (96.4%) of the open reading frames of the C. trachomatis serovar D genome. The antibody response to the primary infection was analyzed in 72 serum samples from 12 inoculated monkeys. The following criteria were utilized to identify immunodominant antigens: proteins found to be recognized by at least 75% (9/12) of the infected monkeys with at least 15% elevations in signal intensity from week 0 to week 8 post infection. All infected monkeys developed Chlamydia specific serum antibodies. Eight proteins satisfied the selection criteria for immunodominant antigens: CT242 (OmpH-like protein), CT541 (mip), CT681 (ompA), CT381 (artJ), CT443 (omcB), CT119 (incA), CT486 (fliY), and CT110 (groEL). Of these, three antigens, CT119, CT486 and CT381, were not previously identified as immunodominant antigens using non-human primate sera. Following the secondary infection, the antibody responses to the eight immunodominant antigens were analyzed and found to be quite different in intensity and duration to the primary infection. In conclusion, these eight immunodominant antigens can now be tested for their ability to identify individuals with a primary C. trachomatis genital infection and to design vaccine strategies to protect against a primary infection with this pathogen.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually-transmitted infection and the major cause of preventable blindness worldwide. The asymptomatic nature of many infections along with uncontrolled inflammation leads to irreversible damage in the upper genital tract and the tarsal conjunctivae, with the major complications of infertility and chronic pelvic pain, and blindness, respectively. Inflammation must, therefore, be tightly regulated to avoid an unrestrained immune response. The genetic factors that regulate inflammation through Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways during C. trachomatis infection have not been fully characterized. SIGIRR (also known as IL-1R8 or TIR8) can regulate inflammation in response to various pathogens and diseases. However, nothing is known about its role during C. trachomatis infection. Expression of the pro-inflammatory chemokine, IL-8, was measured in epithelial cells infected with C. trachomatis. The effect of SIGIRR was determined by depleting SIGIRR or over-expressing SIGIRR in the epithelial cells before infection. Our results indicate that, in the absence of SIGIRR, epithelial cells induce higher levels of the pro-inflammatory chemokine, IL-8, in response to C. trachomatis infection. In addition, SIGIRR associates with MyD88 in both infected and uninfected infected cells. Collectively, our data demonstrate that SIGIRR functions as a negative regulator of the immune response to C. trachomatis infection. This finding provides insights into the immuno-pathogenesis of C. trachomatis that can be used to treat and identify individuals at risk of uncontrolled inflammation during infection.

Chlamydia trachomatis is a sexually transmitted bacterium that infects over 130 million individuals worldwide annually. To implement a vaccine, we developed a cell-free co-translational system to express the Chlamydia muridarum major outer membrane protein (MOMP). This approach uses a nanolipoprotein particles (tNLP) made from ApoA1 protein, amphiphilic telodendrimer and lipids that self-assemble to form 10–25 nm discs. These tNLP provide a protein-encapsulated lipid support to solubilize and fold membrane proteins. The cell-free system co-translated MOMP and ApoA1 in the presence of telodendrimer mixed with lipids. The MOMP-tNLP complex was amenable to CpG and FSL-1 adjuvant addition. To investigate the ability of MOMP-tNLP+CpG+FSL-1 to induce protection against an intranasal (i.n.) C. muridarum challenge, female mice were vaccinated intramuscularly (i.m.) or i.n. and i.m. simultaneously 4 weeks apart. Following vaccination with MOMP-tNLP+CpG+FSL-1, mice mounted significant humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Following the i.n. challenge, mice vaccinated with MOMP-tNLP+CpG+FSL-1 i.n. + i.m. group were protected as determined by the percentage change in body weight and by the number of C. muridarum inclusion forming units (IFU) recovered from the lungs. To our knowledge, this is the first time a MOMP-based vaccine formulated in tNLP has been shown to protect against C. muridarum.

The present work was focused on an alternative method for the preparation of clay bricks by the mediation of sodium hydroxide solution as an efficient activator. The traditional brick preparation requires a firing process, but the present innovation avoids it by the use of commercially viable alkali as an activator. Various brick specimens were prepared by the addition of sodium hydroxide solution having different molarities to clay samples. This was done to optimize the process and contribute to process cost reduction. The blends obtained were molded as per the standard brick dimension (19X9X9 cm) and exposed to the ambient atmosphere in a well-ventilated room for curing (14-28 days). The clay samples and the brick specimens were subjected to some critical qualitative tests. Based on the results it was established that increasing the alkali addition to clay had gradually reduced the brick quality. Moreover, the inclusion of fine sand in the blend enhanced the brick quality. In this work, we emphasized optimizing the alkali input, the impact of reduced curing duration, avoiding brick firing, and the fine sand impact on the brick quality.