Two functionals connected to the Laplacian in a class of doubly connected domains on rank one symmetric spaces of non-compact type

Let B ₁ be a ball in a non-compact rank-one symmetric space and let B ₀ be a smaller ball inside it. It is shown that if y is the solution of the problem ?Δu = 1 in ${B_1 \setminus \bar{B_0}}$ vanishing on the boundary, then the Dirichlet-energy of y is minimal if and only if the balls are concentric. It is also shown that the first Dirichlet eigenvalue of the Laplacian on ${B_1 \setminus \bar{B_0}}$ is maximal if and only if the two balls are concentric. The formalism of Damek-Ricci harmonic spaces is used.     

Rapid capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry separations of peptides and proteins using a monoquaternarized piperazine compound (M7C4I) for capillary coatings

A monoquaternarized piperazine, 1-(4-iodobutyl) 4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2,2,2] octane iodide (M7C4I), has been evaluated as a surface derivatization reagent for CE in combination with TOF MS for the analysis of proteins, peptides, and protein digests. The M7C4I piperazine, at alkaline pH, forms a covalent bond via alkylation of the ionized silanols producing a cationic surface with a highly stable and reversed EOF. The obtained surface yields rapid separations (less than 5 min) of peptides and proteins at acidic pH with high separation efficiencies (up to 1.1 x 10(6) plates/m for peptides and up to 1.8 x 10(6) plates/m for proteins) and no observed bleeding of the coating reagent into the mass spectrometer. The simplicity of the coating procedure also enables fast (2 min) regeneration of the surface, if necessary. This is useful in the analysis of complex samples in order to prevent possible memory effects. The potential of using M7C4I-coated capillaries for MS analysis of complex samples is demonstrated by the separation of peptides, proteins, and protein digests. Even more, the spectacular thing in which large intact proteins with molecular masses over 0.5 MDa could be separated. The coating showed good ability to handle these large proteins with high efficiency and retained peak shape as demonstrated by separation of IgG(1) (150 kDa) and thyroglobulin (669 kDa).     

Formulation of a killed whole cell pneumococcus vaccine - effect of aluminum adjuvants on the antibody and IL-17 response

Background

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes widespread morbidity and mortality. Current vaccines contain free polysaccharides or protein-polysaccharide conjugates, and do not induce protection against serotypes that are not included in the vaccines. An affordable and broadly protective vaccine is very desirable. The goal of this study was to determine the optimal formulation of a killed whole cell pneumococcal vaccine with aluminum-containing adjuvants for intramuscular injection.

Methods

Four aluminium-containing adjuvants were prepared with different levels of surface phosphate groups resulting in different adsorptive capacities and affinities for the vaccine antigens. Mice were immunized three times and the antigen-specific antibody titers and IL-17 responses in blood were analyzed.

Results

Although all adjuvants induced significantly higher antibody titers than antigen without adjuvant, the vaccine containing aluminum phosphate adjuvant (AP) produced the highest antibody response when low doses of antigen were used. Aluminum hydroxide adjuvant (AH) induced an equal or better antibody response at high doses compared with AP. Vaccines formulated with AH, but not with AP, induced an IL-17 response. The vaccine formulated with AH was stable and retained full immunogenicity when stored at 4°C for 4 months.

Conclusions

Antibodies are important for protection against systemic streptococcal disease and IL-17 is critical in the prevention of nasopharyngeal colonization by S. pneumoniae in the mouse model. The formulation of the whole killed bacterial cells with AH resulted in a stable vaccine that induced both antibodies and an IL-17 response. These experiments underscore the importance of formulation studies with aluminium containing adjuvants for the development of stable and effective vaccines.     

Effect of Anisotropic Ion Pressure on Solitary Waves in Magnetized Dusty Plasmas

The propagation of linear and nonlinear dust ion acoustic waves (DIAWs) are studied in a collisionless magnetized plasma which consists of warm ions having anisotropic thermal pressure, nonthermal (energetic) electrons and static dust particles of positive and negative charge polarity. The anisotropic ion pressure is defined using double adiabatic Chew‐Golberger‐Low (CGL) theory. In the linear regime, the propagation properties of the two possible modes are investigated via ion pressure anisotropy, dust particle polarity and nonthermality of electrons. Using reductive method Zakharov‐Kuznetsov (ZK) equation is derived for the propagation of two dimensional electrostatic dust ion acoustic solitary waves in dusty plasmas. It is found that both compressive and rarefactive solitons are formed in presence of nonthermal electrons using Cairn's distribution [R.A. Cairns, A.A. Mamun, R. Bingham, R.O. Dendy, R. Bostrom, C.M.C. Nairn and P.K. Shukla, Geophys.Res. Lett. 22 , 2709 (1995)] in the system. The ion pressure anisotropy, nonthermality of electrons and charge polarity of the dust particles have significant effects on the amplitude and width of the dust ion acoustic solitary waves in such anisotropic nonthermal magnetized dusty plasmas. The numerical results are also presented for illustration. Our finding is applicable to space dusty plasma regimes having anisotropic ion pressure and nonthermal electrons. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Beneficial acoustic speech cues for cochlear implant users with residual acoustic hearing

This study investigated which acoustic cues within the speech signal are responsible for bimodal speech perception benefit. Seven cochlear implant (CI) users with usable residual hearing at low frequencies in the non-implanted ear participated. Sentence tests were performed in near-quiet (some noise on the CI side to reduce scores from ceiling) and in a modulated noise background, with the implant alone and with the addition, in the hearing ear, of one of four types of acoustic signals derived from the same sentences: (1) a complex tone modulated by the fundamental frequency (F0) and amplitude envelope contours; (2) a pure tone modulated by the F0 and amplitude contours; (3) a noise-vocoded signal; (4) unprocessed speech. The modulated tones provided F0 information without spectral shape information, whilst the vocoded signal presented spectral shape information without F0 information. For the group as a whole, only the unprocessed speech condition provided significant benefit over implant-alone scores, in both near-quiet and noise. This suggests that, on average, F0 or spectral cues in isolation provided limited benefit for these subjects in the tested listening conditions, and that the significant benefit observed in the full-signal condition was derived from implantees' use of a combination of these cues.