Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) is a new method for vaccine delivery that has been shown to induce immunity relevant to enteric disease vaccines. We evaluated the clinical safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant subunit vaccine against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) delivered by TCI. Adult volunteers received patches containing the recombinant ETEC colonization factor CS6, either with heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) or patches containing CS6 alone. The vaccine was administered at 0, 1, and 3 months, and serum antibodies and antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) were assessed. Among the 26 volunteers that completed the trial, there were no responses to CS6 in the absence of LT. In the groups receiving both CS6 and LT, 68 and 53% were found to have serum anti-CS6 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA, respectively; 37 and 42% had IgG and IgA anti-CS6 ASCs. All of the volunteers receiving LT had anti-LT IgG, and 90% had serum anti-LT IgA; 79 and 37% had anti-LT IgG and IgA ASCs. Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), suggesting T-cell responses, was seen in 14 of 19 volunteers receiving LT and CS6; no DTH was seen in subjects receiving CS6 alone. This study demonstrated that protein antigens delivered by a simple patch could induce significant systemic immune responses but only in the presence of an adjuvant such as LT. The data suggest that an ETEC vaccine for travelers delivered by a patch may be a viable approach worthy of further evaluation.

Regular variations of the F 2 -layer in the quiet ionosphere are studied using the universal variation of the F 2 -layer critical frequency, i.e. the dependence of the instantaneous mean-longitudinal value of foF 2 at a fixed latitude on universal time (UT). Algorithms for the universal variation calculation have been developed and are used to process the ionospheric vertical sounding data for . It is shown that the foF 2 -universal variation forms are essentially different for solar minima and maxima years. In the solar minima years, the foF 2 -universal variation is similar to the known universal variation of the atmospheric electric field near the Earth's surface which has a maximum at 19 UT. There is no foF 2 -universal variation seasonal change in solar minimum years. The foF 2 -universal variation form changes for solar maximum years have a minimum of foF 2 , at 16-17 UT, and there are small seasonal changes in the foF 2 -universal variation. Such behaviour of the foF 2 -universal variation suggests that under the quiet conditions in solar minimum years the electric field penetrates from the lower atmospheric layers up to the F 2 layer of the ionosphere.

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Coupled geomechanic and fluid flow analysis is applied to develop theoretical and experimental background for geosteering and well logging to diagnose the state of near-wellbore formation and oil reservoir. The suggested methods of processing EM induction (VIKIZ) and Russian laterolog (RLL) resistivity responses account for effects of stress-dependent fluid flow changes. The geomechanic and fluid-flow effects on resistivity well logs are investigated for the case of asymmetric invasion and related irreversible deformation. Ways of taking into account stress-dependent effects on resistivity logs are developed on the basis of 3D modeling of geomechanic and electromagnetic fields.