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Smallpox was eradicated 34 years ago due to the success of the smallpox vaccine; yet, the vaccine continues to be studied because of its importance in responding to potential biological warfare and the adverse events associated with current smallpox vaccines. Interindividual variations in vaccine response are observed and are, in part, due to genetic variation. In some cases, these varying responses lead to adverse events, which occur at a relatively high rate for the smallpox vaccine compared with other vaccines. Here, we aim to summarize the cytokine responses associated with smallpox vaccine response to date. Along with a description of each of these cytokines, we describe the genetic and adverse event data associated with cytokine responses to smallpox vaccination.

Global effects caused by the detonation of an IED near a military vehicle induce subsequent severe acceleration effects on the vehicle occupants. Two concepts to minimize these global effects were developed, with the help of a combined method based on a scaled experimental technology and numerical simulations. The first concept consists in the optimization of the vehicle shape to reduce the momentum transfer and thus the occupant loading. Three scaled V-shaped vehicles with different ground clearances were built and compared to a reference vehicle equipped with a flat floor. The second concept, called dynamic impulse compensation (DIC), is based on a momentum compensation technique. The principal possibility of this concept was demonstrated on a scaled vehicle. In addition, the numerical simulations have been performed with generic full size vehicles including dummy models, proving the capability of the DIC technology to reduce the occupant loading.

Immune response variations after vaccination are influenced by host genetic factors and demographic variables, such as race, ethnicity and sex. The latter have not been systematically studied in regard to live rubella vaccine, but are of interest for developing next generation vaccines for diverse populations, for predicting immune responses after vaccination, and for better understanding the variables that impact immune response.We assessed associations between demographic variables, including race, ethnicity and sex, and rubella-specific neutralizing antibody levels and secreted cytokines (IFNγ, IL-6) in two independent cohorts (1994 subjects), using linear and linear mixed models approaches, and genetically defined racial and ethnic categorizations.Our replicated findings in two independent, large, racially diverse cohorts indicate that individuals of African descent have significantly higher rubella-specific neutralizing antibody levels compared to individuals of European descent and/or Hispanic ethnicity (p0.001).Our study provides consistent evidence for racial/ethnic differences in humoral immune response following rubella vaccination.

The influence of growth conditions on radiation detector performance was studied by examining Cd(Te,Se):Cl crystals. They were grown by the travelling heater method under microgravity conditions during the PHOTON 8 mission. An additional forced convection was produced by a rotating magnetic field (400 Hz) of 2 mT. The influence on crystal quality was analyzed by several characterization methods such as time dependent charge measurement, photo-induced current transient spectroscopy and admittance spectroscopy. The charge collection efficiency of detectors was increased from 10% without magnetic field up to 66% by the influence of the rotating magnetic field. The improved detector performance is explained by the increased resistivity and a reduced number of deep levels.

CdTe:Cl crystals were grown from the liquid and from the vapour phase under microgravity (μg) conditions on board the unmanned EURECA I mission. The resistivity distribution of the grown crystals was measured by time dependent charge measurement (TDCM). Photo induced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS) was used to investigate the deep level properties. The axial resistivity distributions of the crystals grown in space differ significantly from 1 g reference crystals. In the case of vapour growth, these differences can be explained by an additional laminar flow under 1 g conditions. Supercooling has to be considered in growth from a Te zone under μg.

CdTe is one of the most encouraging semiconductor materials in the field of room temperature γ- and X-ray spectroscopy. To improve the detector properties, the ternary systems (Cd,Zn)Te and Cd(Te,Se), and CdTe were grown by vertical Bridgman technique. To achieve low noise detectors, the resistivity of all materials was increased by chlorine doping. The crystals were characterized by electrical (Hall measurements, photoinduced current transient spectroscopy) methods. The numbers of deep levels influencing the resistivity were reduced by introducing Se into the CdTe system. A common deep level close to the middle of the bandgap has been identified, responsible for the compensation effect in all three systems. In addition high resistivity and n-type conductivity were achieved in CdTeSe materials for the first time

Differential thermal analyses (DTA), dilatometric, and X-ray powder diffraction studies of the semiconductor TISbSe 2 show the existence of three phases. Between the high temperature (HT) phase with statistically distributed cations and the room temperature (RT) phase, an intermediate phase with partial cation order (PO phase) was found. The phase transition from HT to PO phase is of first order, where both displacement and atomic exchange processes occur. The phase transition from PO to RT is of higher order, accompanied by diffusion processes, which increase the order of the cations. The completely ordered RT phase can be obtained by long time annealing (e.g. four weeks at 350 °C). Another method to obtain the well ordered RT phase is to pass repeatedly the phase transitions without melting the material. The coefficients of thermal expansion have been measured for the temperature range from 25 to 300 °C.

The electrical properties of semi-insulating CdTe crystals were characterized considering the application of the material as a room temperature radiation detector. Requirement for the detector application is a high resistivity material which is achieved by the compensation of shallow levels by deep donors in the middle of the band gap. These deep donors are obtained by doping the CdTe crystals with titanium or vanadium or by the influence of chlorine and intrinsic defects like the antisite defect. The energies of the deep levels are within the range of 0.31 eV and 0.95 eV determined by photoinduced current spectroscopy and admittance measurements. To calculate the compensation effects we applied a model originally developed for semi-insulating GaAs. To form detectors with a high local resolution, homogeneous material is needed. Homogeneity was tested by time dependent charge measurements. While CdTe:Cl showed variations of about 20% other high resistivity materials could vary up to one order of magnitude across one wafer. The variation of resistivity in CdTe crystals could be attributed to the crystal growth by a combined segregation-compensation model.

We report on electrical and optical properties of vertical Bridgman grown Cl-doped CdTe including the ternary compositions Cd0.9Zn0.1Te and CdTe0 9Se0.1 with respect to application as a radiation detector. Based on Hall effect measurements, photoinduced current spectroscopy (PICTS) and photoluminescence we infer that high resistive material with good performance is controlled by deep level defects. The resistivity is calculated as a function of the shallow acceptor concentration (Cl-A-centers) with the conclusion that a deep donor state at mid gap must be present.

This report contains a monthly update of environmental regulatory activity that is of interest to the Department of Energy. It is provided to DOE operations and contractor staff to assist and support environmental management programs by tracking regulatory developments. The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.

This report contains a monthly update of environmental regulatory activity that is of interest to the Department of Energy. It is provided to DOE operations and contractor staff to assist and support environmental management programs by tracking regulatory developments. The Environmental Regulatory Update Table provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and projection of further action.