In this paper, we analyse Stochastic Petri Net (SPN) models of slotted-ring networks. We show that a simple SPN model of a slotted-ring network, which exhibits a productform solution, yields similar results to a more detailed SPN model that has to be analysed by numerical means. Furthermore, we demonstrate a Mean-Value Analysis (MVA) approach to calculate efficiently the results for the simple ...

BACKGROUND Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), a highly attenuated strain of vaccinia virus, has been used as vaccine delivery vector in preclinical and clinical studies against infectious diseases and malignancies. Here, we investigated whether an MVA which does not encode any antigen (Ag) could be exploited as adjuvant per se. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We showed that dendritic cells ...

The present paper deals with the problem of calculating mean delays in polling systems with either exhaustive or gated service. We develop a mean value analysis (MVA) to compute these delay figures. The merits of MVA are in its intrinsic simplicity and its intuitively appealing derivation. As a consequence, MVA may be applied, both in an exact and approximate manner, to a large variety of models.

BACKGROUND Conventional smallpox vaccines based on replicating vaccinia virus (VV) strains (e.g. Lister Elstree, NYCBOH) are associated with a high incidence of myo-/pericarditis, a severe inflammatory cardiac complication. A new smallpox vaccine candidate based on a non-replicating Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) poxvirus has been assessed for cardiac safety in a large placebo-controlled clinic...

Successful future HIV vaccines are expected to generate an effective cellular and humoral response against the virus in both the peripheral blood and mucosal compartments. We previously reported the development of DNA-C and MVA-C vaccines based on HIV-1 subtype C and demonstrated their immunogenicity when given in a DNA prime-MVA boost combination in a nonhuman primate model. In the current stu...

TG4010, a Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) expressing human mucin1 (MUC1) has demonstrated clinical benefit for patients suffering from advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with chemotherapy. To support its development, preclinical experiments were performed with either TG4010 or β-galactosidase-encoding MVA vector (MVA-βgal) in mice presenting tumors in the lung. Tumo...

OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) with dilatation and curettage (DNC) in the management of early pregnancy failure. METHODS One hundred patients of spontaneous abortion, incomplete or missed, with gestational age <12 weeks were included in the study. Using a Random Number Table, these patients were assigned to undergo either DN...

To determine if mitral valve morphology influences the results of double-balloon catheter balloon valvuloplasty (CBV) for mitral stenosis, two-dimensional echocardiography was performed in 33 patients before CBV. The two-dimensional echocardiographic features of leaflet motion, leaflet thickness, subvalvular disease, and commissural calcium and 14 pre-CBV clinical and hemodynamic variables were...

The metabolic products of intracellular mevalonate (MVA) are important for the growth of eukaryotic cells. These products include cholesterol and several non-sterol isoprenoids. It has been reported that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors ameliorate glomerular injury in several experimental models of progressive glomerular disease by inhibiting the production of MVA and ...

BACKGROUND The pressure half-time (PHT) method has been widely used to estimate mitral valve area (MVA) in patients with mitral stenosis (MS), in the belief that this simple method provides reliable information on true MVA. However, its limitation has been repeatedly recognized under different circumstances. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of cardiac rhythm on PHT-derived MVA c...