Adjuvants and formulations: How to make an immunogen from an antigen

Appropriate adjuvants and formulations improve the immunogenicity of antigens, by increasing both the intensity and duration of immune responses. To that aim, the design and use of adjuvants must obey to the rules regulating physiological responses of the immune system, in particular the long-term development of memory lymphocytes. Here I will briefly discuss the main mechanisms of adjuvanticity at the light of recent knowledge on antigen presentation by B memory lymphocytes, the role of nonspecific stimulation of such cells for memory persistence, and the use of particulate antigens to target B cells, thus facilitating immunological T/B lymphocyte cooperation for getting optimal immune responses.     

Many eyes on the ground: citizen science is an effective early detection tool for biosecurity

Early detection of target non-indigenous species is one of the most important determinants of a successful eradication campaign. For early detection to be successful, and provide the highest probability of achieving eradication, intense surveillance is often required that can involve significant resources. Volunteer based monitoring or “citizen science” is one potential tool to address this problem. This study differs from standard citizen science projects because the participants are personnel or contractors of a company working on Barrow Island, Western Australia. We show that personnel can contribute successfully to a surveillance program aimed at detecting a broad taxonomic range of non-indigenous vertebrate and invertebrate species. Using data collected over a five year surveillance period on Barrow Island, we show that eighteen of the nineteen (95%) non-indigenous invertebrate species new to the island were detected by personnel working on the island, and that the number of detections made by these workers was significantly related to the number of personnel on the island at any one time. Most personnel detections (91%) were made inside buildings where the majority of active surveillance tools could not be implemented. For vertebrates, 4 NIS species detections (100% of detections) were made in the built environment by personnel. Although reporting of suspect non-indigenous species is voluntary, personnel are required to attend inductions and toolboxes where reporting of suspect biosecurity risk material is encouraged. These results demonstrate the value of industry led ‘citizen science’ programs, resulting in sustained stewardship and conservation of areas with high environmental value.     

Accelerating clinical insights: how to use accelerator mass spectrometry to make better early development decisions

This paper is an overview of the applications of the technique of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) in the biomedical drug development field. The work described here has been carried out at Xceleron (York, UK and Germantown, MD, USA), and it aims to apply AMS to provide better information about the human pharmacokinetic/metabolic behaviour of drugs or drug candidates as early as possible. It is hoped that the use of this technique will contribute to the delivery of better, more effective drugs onto the market sooner, which will be good news for all concerned.     

Climate science and famine early warning

Food security assessment in sub-Saharan Africa requires simultaneous consideration of multiple socio-economic and environmental variables. Early identification of populations at risk enables timely and appropriate action. Since large and widely dispersed populations depend on rainfed agriculture and pastoralism, climate monitoring and forecasting are important inputs to food security analysis. Satellite rainfall estimates (RFE) fill in gaps in station observations, and serve as input to drought index maps and crop water balance models. Gridded rainfall time-series give historical context, and provide a basis for quantitative interpretation of seasonal precipitation forecasts. RFE are also used to characterize flood hazards, in both simple indices and stream flow models. In the future, many African countries are likely to see negative impacts on subsistence agriculture due to the effects of global warming. Increased climate variability is forecast, with more frequent extreme events. Ethiopia requires special attention. Already facing a food security emergency, troubling persistent dryness has been observed in some areas, associated with a positive trend in Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures. Increased African capacity for rainfall observation, forecasting, data management and modelling applications is urgently needed. Managing climate change and increased climate variability require these fundamental technical capacities if creative coping strategies are to be devised.