The European Union, borders and conflict transformation: the case of Cyprus

Much of the existing literature on the European Union (EU), conflict transformation and border dynamics has been premised on the assumption that the nature of the border determines EU intervention and the consequences that flow from this in terms of EU impact. The article aims to transcend this literature through assessing how domestic interpretations influence EU border transformation in conflict situations, taking Cyprus as a case study. Moreover, the objective is to fuse the literature on EU bordering impact and perceptions of the EU’s normative projection in conflict resolution. Pursuing this line of inquiry is an attempt to depart from the notion of borders being constructed solely by unidirectional EU logics of engagement or bordering practices to a conceptualization of the border as co-constituted space, where the interpretations of the EU’s normative projections by conflict parties, and the strategies that they pursue, can determine the relative openness of the EU border

T cells at the site of autoimmune inflammation show increased potential for trogocytosis

CD4+ T cells acquire membrane fragments from antigen-presenting-cells via a process termed trogocytosis. Identifying which CD4+ T cells undergo trogocytosis in co-culture with Ag-loaded APC can enrich for antigen-reactive T cells without knowledge of their fine specificity or cytokine-production profiles. We sought to assess the suitability of this method to identify disease relevant effector and regulatory T cells during autoimmune inflammation. Trogocytosis efficiently identified MBP-reactive T cells in vitro and ex-vivo following immunization. However, Foxp3+ regulatory T cells constitutively displayed a higher rate of trogocytosis than their Foxp3- counterparts which limits the potential of trogocytosis to identify antigen-reactive Treg cells. During inflammation a locally elevated rate of trogocytosis (seen in both effector and regulatory T cells isolated from the inflamed CNS) precludes the use of trogocytosis as a measure of antigenic reactivity among cells taken from inflammatory sites. Our results indicate trogocytosis detection can enrich for Ag-reactive conventional T cells in the periphery but is limited in its ability to identify Ag-reactive Treg or T effector cells at sites of inflammation. Increased trogocytosis potential at inflammatory sites also draws into the question the biological significance of this phenomenon during inflammation, in Treg mediated suppression and for the maintenance of tolerance in health and disease

Failure of human rhombic lip differentiation underlies medulloblastoma formation

Medulloblastoma (MB) comprises a group of heterogeneous paediatric embryonal neoplasms of the hindbrain with strong links to early development of the hindbrain 1–4. Mutations that activate Sonic hedgehog signalling lead to Sonic hedgehog MB in the upper rhombic lip (RL) granule cell lineage 5–8. By contrast, mutations that activate WNT signalling lead to WNT MB in the lower RL 9,10. However, little is known about the more commonly occurring group 4 (G4) MB, which is thought to arise in the unipolar brush cell lineage 3,4. Here we demonstrate that somatic mutations that cause G4 MB converge on the core binding factor alpha (CBFA) complex and mutually exclusive alterations that affect CBFA2T2, CBFA2T3, PRDM6, UTX and OTX2. CBFA2T2 is expressed early in the progenitor cells of the cerebellar RL subventricular zone in Homo sapiens, and G4 MB transcriptionally resembles these progenitors but are stalled in developmental time. Knockdown of OTX2 in model systems relieves this differentiation blockade, which allows MB cells to spontaneously proceed along normal developmental differentiation trajectories. The specific nature of the split human RL, which is destined to generate most of the neurons in the human brain, and its high level of susceptible EOMES +KI67 + unipolar brush cell progenitor cells probably predisposes our species to the development of G4 MB

Cutibacterium acnes sternoclavicular joint osteomyelitis in an otherwise healthy 55-year-old man

Sternoclavicular joint osteomyelitis is extremely rare, with only 225 reported cases in the last 45 years. We present an unusual case in an otherwise healthy 55-year-old man with a history of well-controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. He presented to the emergency department after a week of left knee pain that worsened to full-body joint pain with left sternoclavicular swelling. He was started on antibiotics with multiple washouts of the left knee and treated for septic arthritis. By MRI and CT, he was found to have left sternoclavicular joint osteomyelitis and abscess and underwent debridement and resection. We believe that the initial joint injection resulted in haematogenous spread to the left sternoclavicular joint, stressing the importance of a sterile field for joint procedures

An examination of the selective targeting of quantum dots via the folate receptor

Semiconductor nanocrystals known as quantum dots (QDs) are emerging as an important new class of fluorescent probes in cell biology due to their many advantageous optical properties. Various methods have devised that allow for the selective targeting of QDs to biological cells. Conjugation of QDs to small biomolecules has proven effective, allowing for their uptake into mammalian cell lines. We explored the use of folate conjugated QDs in the selective targeting of model cell lines known to have high expression of the folate receptor (FR). Characterization of QDs and QD conjugates is examined using techniques such as spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements. Uptake of QDs into cells is examined using both epifluorescence microscopy with multispectral imaging as well as confocal microscopy. Finally the implications for the selective targeting of QDs into cells via the FR are discussed, given their potential use in photodynamic therapy.À cause de leurs multiples et uniques propriétés optiques, les nanocristaux semi-conducteurs ou points quantiques (PQs) émergent comme une nouvelle classe de sondes fluorescentes en biologie moléculaire. Diverses méthodes ont été conçues pour optimiser l'interaction des PQs avec les cellules biologiques. La conjugaison de PQs à de petites biomolécules est efficacement maîtrisée, permettant ainsi leur entrée dans une variété de cellules. Nous avons exploré l'utilisation des conjugués foliques de PQs dans l'interaction sélective avec une variété de cellules modèles connues pour avoir des niveaux élevés de récepteurs foliques (FR). La caractérisation des PQs ou des conjugués de PQs est examinée en utilisant une variété des techniques. La prise de PQs par des cellules est examinée aussi bien avec la microscopie d'épifluorescence, qu'avec la microscopie confocale. Enfin, vu leur potentiel d'application en thérapie photo dynamique, les implications d'une meilleure interaction entre les PQ et les cellules ayant des FR sont discutées