Pemphigus is associated with KIR3DL2 expression levels and provides evidence that KIR3DL2 may bind HLA-A3 and A11 in vivo.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:Augusto, D. G., O'Connor, G. M., Lobo-Alves, S. C., Bass, S., Martin, M. P., Carrington, M., . . . Petzl-Erler, M. L. (2015). Pemphigus is associated with KIR3DL2 expression levels and provides evidence that KIR3DL2 may bind HLA-A3 and A11 in vivo. European Journal of Immunology, 45(7), 2052-2060, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/eji.201445324. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingAlthough HLA-A3 and A11 have been reported to be ligands for KIR3DL2, evidence for any in vivo relevance of this interaction is still missing. To explore the functional importance of KIR3DL2 allelic variation, we analyzed the autoimmune disease pemphigus foliaceus, previously associated (lower risk) with activating KIR genes. KIR3DL2*001 was increased in patients (odds ratio (OR) = 2.04; p = 0.007). The risk was higher for the presence of both KIR3DL2*001 and HLA-A3 or A11 (OR = 3.76, p = 0.013), providing the first evidence that HLA-A3 and A11 may interact with KIR3DL2 in vivo. The nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism 1190T (rs3745902) was associated with protection (OR = 0.52, p = 0.018). This SNP results in a threonine-to-methionine substitution. Individuals who have methionine in this position exhibit a lower percentage of KIR3DL2-positive natural killer (NK) cells and also lower intensity of KIR3DL2 on expressing natural killer cells; additionally, we show that the expression of KIR3DL2 is independent of other killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors. Pemphigus foliaceus is a very unique complex disease strongly associated with immune-related genes. It is the only autoimmune disease known to be endemic, showing a strong correlation with environmental factors. Our data demonstrate that this relatively unknown autoimmune disease may facilitate understanding of the molecular mechanisms of KIR3DL2 ligand recognition

Investigating the contribution of IL-17A and IL-17F to the host response during Escherichia coli mastitis

Mastitis remains a major disease of cattle with a strong impact on the dairy industry. There is a growing interest in understanding how cell mediated immunity contributes to the defence of the mammary gland against invading mastitis causing bacteria. Cytokines belonging to the IL-17 family, and the cells that produce them, have been described as important modulators of the innate immunity, in particular that of epithelial cells. We report here that expression of IL-17A and IL-17F genes, encoding two members of the IL-17 family, are induced in udder tissues of cows experimentally infected with Escherichia coli. The impact of IL-17A on the innate response of bovine mammary epithelial cells was investigated using a newly isolated cell line, the PS cell line. We first showed that PS cells, similar to primary bovine mammary epithelial cells, were able to respond to agonists of TLR2 and to LPS, provided CD14 was added to the culture medium. We then showed that secretion of CXCL8 and transcription of innate immunity related-genes by PS cells were increased by IL-17A, in particular when these cells were stimulated with live E. coli bacteria. Together with data from the literature, these results support the hypothesis that IL-17A and IL-17 F could play an important role in mediating of host-pathogen interactions during mastitis

Data-driven nonparametric Li-ion battery ageing model aiming at learning from real operation data – Part A : storage operation

Conventional Li-ion battery ageing models, such as electrochemical, semi-empirical and empirical models, require a significant amount of time and experimental resources to provide accurate predictions under realistic operating conditions. At the same time, there is significant interest from industry in the introduction of new data collection telemetry technology. This implies the forthcoming availability of a significant amount of real-world battery operation data. In this context, the development of ageing models able to learn from in-field battery operation data is an interesting solution to mitigate the need for exhaustive laboratory testing

Being in control or being controlled? A qualitative study to explore women’s empowerment in Eastern Nepal

Master i International Social Welfare and Health PolicyThe overall aim of this thesis is to explore women’s empowerment as a strategy for development. Awareness raising and changing power relations lay on the core of empowerment, and as such this thesis assesses, as part of the overall aim, empowerment as a means for more social inclusion in society. This study is formulated to understand both individual and collective empowerment within the sociocultural context. Exploring women’s empowerment in the Nepalese society, in which gender inequalities and discrimination remain on a high scale, is of great significance for further development. The Ilam district in Eastern Nepal provided a case and an interesting starting point for this study, since it ranks relatively well in comparison to other districts in Nepal in terms of women’s empowerment indicators. The core methods of this thesis are individual in-depth and group interviews with women; however, numerous observations and informal conversations from the fieldwork have been integrated in the analysis as well. The findings of this thesis point clearly to the interrelation of participating, interacting with others and communication skills as important aspects for women’s empowerment. While the ability to make decisions varies much among the participants and is dependent on many other contextual conditions, the ability to express oneself and to interact with others is a more straightforward process in promoting women’s empowerment. The feelings of having control is related to skills and abilities and points to the importance of skill development trainings for women. The husband’s influence on the women’s possibilities to participate and to take up work again after marriage is strong and indicates to the involvement of men in promoting women’s empowerment, not least to counteract women’s remaining role in domestic responsibilities. Isolated areas, lack of information and stigmata among Dalit caste groups are the greatest barriers in some women’s life; however, women’s empowerment seems to work as a tool to include and encourage other women to participate in local events. This thesis provides an important contribution to the existing knowledge of empowerment from the perspective of some Nepalese women and of what can improve the path of empowerment in the future.publishedVersio

Social Class

Discussion of class structure in fifth-century Athens, historical constitution of theater audiences, and the changes in the comic representation of class antagonism from Aristophanes to Menander

Super-heavy fermion material as metallic refrigerant for adiabatic demagnetization cooling

Low-temperature refrigeration is of crucial importance in fundamental research of condensed matter physics, as the investigations of fascinating quantum phenomena, such as superconductivity, superfluidity and quantum criticality, often require refrigeration down to very low temperatures. Currently, cryogenic refrigerators with $^3$He gas are widely used for cooling below 1 Kelvin. However, usage of the gas is being increasingly difficult due to the current world-wide shortage. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative methods of refrigeration. Here, we show that a new type of refrigerant, super-heavy electron metal, YbCo$_2$Zn$_{20}$, can be used for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration, which does not require 3He gas. A number of advantages includes much better metallic thermal conductivity compared to the conventional insulating refrigerants. We also demonstrate that the cooling performance is optimized in Yb$_{1-x}$Sc$_x$Co$_2$Zn$_{20}$ by partial Sc substitution with $x\sim$0.19. The substitution induces chemical pressure which drives the materials close to a zero-field quantum critical point. This leads to an additional enhancement of the magnetocaloric effect in low fields and low temperatures enabling final temperatures well below 100 mK. Such performance has up to now been restricted to insulators. Since nearly a century the same principle of using local magnetic moments has been applied for adiabatic demagnetization cooling. This study opens new possibilities of using itinerant magnetic moments for the cryogen-free refrigeration

In-vitro Antimicrobial Resistance of Pasteurella multocida and Mannheimia haemolytica from Bovine Mastitis on Bavarian Dairy Farms between 2015 and 2023

As the leading disease in dairy cows, mastitis and its major pathogens have been extensively researched. However, mastitis can also be caused by other, opportunistic pathogens, such as Pasteurella (P.) multocida and Mannheimia (M.) haemolytica, which are usually associated with bovine respiratory disease. To better understand the effects of these as mastitis pathogens, the objective of this study was to describe the in-vitro antimicrobial resistance of P. multocida and M. haemolytica in quarter milk samples from Bavarian dairy farms between 2015 and 2023. P. multocida was isolated almost as frequently from clinical (48.6%), as from subclinical cases (51.1%), while samples with M. haemolytica came predominantly from clinical mastitis (82%). And while P. multocida was isolated in roughly equal parts (49.6% vs. 50.4%) from samples of herd screenings as well as individual submissions, M. haemolytica was more frequently found in individually submitted samples (87.2%). P. multocida was in-vitro mostly resistant against erythromycin (81.4%) and pirlimycin (95%), and M. haemolytica against erythromycin (89.7%), pirlimycin (87.2%), and oxacillin (58.9%). Yet they showed only few resistances to the other tested antimicrobials. The high occurrence of resistances against those few antimicrobials were also reflected in a high percentage of multiple resistances (83.7%). As antimicrobial resistances of those pathogens vary throughout different regions, the numbers in this study were mostly consistent with those from other studies from Germany or Austria. In general, low resistances to penicillin were reported when P. multocida and M. haemolytica were isolated from cases of mastitis, as well as a high success rate in eliminating the pathogens from the udder. However, the possibility of self-cure remains unexplored for these pathogens. When treatment with antimicrobials was selected, penicillin seemed to be the antimicrobial of choice for mastitis caused by P. multocida and M. haemolytica

Neutrophil degranulation differentially modulates phenotype and function of bovine monocyte subsets

Monocytes and neutrophils are important players in the innate immune response and cooperate during infection and inflammation. In our study we analyzed the effects of neutrophil degranulation products (polymorphonuclear granulocytes degranulation products, PMN-DGP) on the activation, the adhesion and the migration of three bovine monocyte subsets, as well as their effects on monocyte-macrophage differentiation. Cross-linking of surface CD18 molecules on bovine PMN resulted in the release of primary, secondary and tertiary granules as well as of secretory vesicles. PMN-DGP induced a significant Ca2+-influx in classical (classical monocytes, cM) and intermediate monocytes (intermediate monocytes, intM) but not in non-classical monocytes (non-classical monocytes, ncM). A selective and up-regulated expression induced by PMN-DGP was only seen for CD11a and CD31 on intM. PMN-DGP induced a selective migration of intM in vitro. The presence of PMN-DGP during the differentiation of cM or intM into macrophages resulted in increased expression of membrane CD163 and reduced expression of MHC-II molecules. PMN-DGP-derived macrophages produced more IL-12 and IL-10 and showed enhanced phagocytosis and ROS production capacities. In conclusion, PMN-DGP selectively attract bovine intM and skew the functional maturation of cM and intM