Conformational Plasticity of HLA-B27 Molecules Correlates Inversely With Efficiency of Negative T Cell Selection

The development of autoimmune disorders is incompletely understood. Inefficient thymic T cell selection against self-peptides presented by major histocompatibility antigens (HLA in humans) may contribute to the emergence of auto-reactive effector cells, and molecular mimicry between foreign and self-peptides could promote T cell cross-reactivity. A pair of class I subtypes, HLA-B2705 and HLA-B2709, have previously been intensely studied, because they are distinguished from each other only by a single amino acid exchange at the floor of the peptide-binding groove, yet are differentially associated with the autoinflammatory disorder ankylosing spondylitis. Using X-ray crystallography in combination with ensemble refinement, we find that the non-disease-associated subtype HLA-B2709, when presenting the self-peptide pGR (RRRWHRWRL), exhibits elevated conformational dynamics, and the complex can also be recognized by T cells. Both features are not observed in case of the sequence-related self-peptide pVIPR (RRKWRRWHL) in complex with this subtype, and T cell cross-reactivity between pGR, pVIPR, and the viral peptide pLMP2 (RRRWRRLTV) is only rarely observed. The disease-associated subtype HLA-B2705, however, exhibits extensive conformational flexibility in case of the three complexes, all of which are also recognized by frequently occurring cross-reactive T cells. A comparison of the structural and dynamic properties of the six HLA-B27 complexes, together with their individual ability to interact with T cells, permits us to correlate the flexibility of HLA-B27 complexes with effector cell reactivity. The results suggest the existence of an inverse relationship between conformational plasticity of peptide-HLA-B27 complexes and the efficiency of negative selection of self-reactive cells within the thymus

Differentiation Between Sarcasm and Cynicism

Nonfiction by Barbara Ziegler

Carbon-based materials for humidity sensing: a short review

Humidity sensors are widespread in many industrial applications, ranging from environmental and meteorological monitoring, soil water content determination in agriculture, air conditioning systems, food quality monitoring, and medical equipment to many other fields. Thus, an accurate and reliable measurement of water content in dierent environments and materials is of paramount importance. Due to their rich surface chemistry and structure designability, carbon materials have become interesting in humidity sensing. In addition, they can be easily miniaturized and applied in flexible electronics. Therefore, this short review aims at providing a survey of recent research dealing with carbonaceous materials used as capacitive and resistive humidity sensors. This work collects some successful examples of devices based on carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon black, carbon fibers, carbon soot, and more recently, biochar produced from agricultural wastes. The pros and cons of the dierent sensors are also discussed in the present review

Dual, HLA-B27 Subtype-dependent Conformation of a Self-peptide

The products of the human leukocyte antigen subtypes HLA-B*2705 and HLA-B*2709 differ only in residue 116 (Asp vs. His) within the peptide binding groove but are differentially associated with the autoimmune disease ankylosing spondylitis (AS); HLA-B*2705 occurs in AS-patients, whereas HLA-B*2709 does not. The subtypes also generate differential T cell repertoires as exemplified by distinct T cell responses against the self-peptide pVIPR (RRKWRRWHL). The crystal structures described here show that pVIPR binds in an unprecedented dual conformation only to HLA-B*2705 molecules. In one binding mode, peptide pArg5 forms a salt bridge to Asp116, connected with drastically different interactions between peptide and heavy chain, contrasting with the second, conventional conformation, which is exclusively found in the case of B*2709. These subtype-dependent differences in pVIPR binding link the emergence of dissimilar T cell repertoires in individuals with HLA-B*2705 or HLA-B*2709 to the buried Asp116/His116 polymorphism and provide novel insights into peptide presentation by major histocompatibility antigens

Allele-Dependent Similarity between Viral and Self-Peptide Presentation by Hla-B27 Subtypes

Molecular mimicry is discussed as a possible mechanism that may contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases. It could also be involved in the differential association of the human major histocompatibility subtypes HLA-B(*)2705 and HLA-B(*)2709 with ankylosing spondylitis. These two subtypes differ only in residue 116 of the heavy chain (Asp in B(*)2705 and His in B(*)2709), but the reason for the differential disease association is not understood. Using x-ray crystallography, we show here that the viral peptide pLMP2 (RRRWRRLTV, derived from latent membrane protein 2 (residues 236-244) of Epstein-Barr virus) is presented by the B(*)2705 and B(*)2709 molecules in two drastically deviating conformations. Extensive structural similarity between pLMP2 and the self-peptide pVIPR (RRKWRRWHL, derived from vasoactive intestinal peptide type 1 receptor (residues 400-408)) is observed only when the peptides are presented by B(*)2705 because of a salt bridge between Arg(5) of both peptides and the subtype-specific heavy chain residue Asp(116). Combined with functional studies using pLMP2/pVIPR-cross-reactive cytotoxic T cell lines and clones, together with target cells presenting these peptides or a modified peptide analogue, our results reveal that a pathogen-derived peptide can exhibit major histocompatibility complex class I subtype-dependent, drastically distinct binding modes. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that molecular mimicry between pLMP2 and pVIPR in the HLA-B27 context is an allele-dependent property

Der Zusammenhang von Eltern- und Kindkognitionen bezüglich des Faches Mathematik

"Elterneinstellungen bezüglich der Eignung ihrer Kinder für die Mathematik wurden bisher nur selten untersucht, und im deutschsprachigen Raum liegt derzeit keine Studie vor, in der diese Aspekte getrennt für Mütter und Väter von jeweils Mädchen und Jungen analysiert werden. In einer empirischen Erhebung zu Beginn des Gymnasiums konnten im Rahmen der vorliegenden Untersuchung unterschiedliche Einschätzungen der Eltern bezüglich der Eignung ihrer Töchter bzw. Söhne für das Fach Mathematik nachgewiesen werden. Mädchen wurden dabei als deutlich weniger begabt und geeignet für die Mathematik eingeschätzt. Dies entsprach auch dem Selbstbild der Kinder, d.h. Mädchen hatten weniger Vertrauen in ihre mathematischen Fähigkeiten als Jungen, geringere Aspirationen und attribuierten ungünstiger. Zwischen Eltern- und Kindvariablen konnten systematische Korrelationen für das Vertrauen in die eigenen Fähigkeiten und das Aspirationsniveau gefunden werden, nicht aber für die Attributionen. Schließlich konnte gezeigt werden, dass der elterliche Glaube an die unterschiedliche Eignung von Mädchen und Jungen für die Mathematik die Selbsteinschätzungen der Kinder beeinflusst. In der Diskussion werden mögliche pädagogisch-psychologische Folgerungen aus den Resultaten thematisiert." (Autorenreferat)"Parental attitudes concerning the how well suited their children are for mathematics have, in the past, only seldom been investigated. There is currently no existing study among German speaking countries in which this aspect was separately analyzed for mothers and fathers, as well as for girls and boys. In an empirical investigation conducted at the start of Gymnasium (college preparatory schools), differing estimations by parents in their child's suitability for mathematics could be confirmed for sons and daughters. Girls were seen as significantly less talented and thereby less suited for mathematics. This was also reflected in the self-perceptions the children had, in that girls had lower levels of confidence in their mathematical abilities than boys, fewer aspirations, and made more unfavorable attributions. Between parental and child variables, systematic correlations for the confidence in ability and aspiration could be found, but not for attributions. Finally, it could be shown that parental belief in the differing suitability of girls and boys for mathematics has an influence on the children's self-perception. In the discussion possible consequences for educational psychology are considered." (author's abstract

Österreichischer HipHop in der österreichischen Medien- und Musiklandschaft am Beispiel der Wiener Szene

Die Diplomarbeit beschreibt die HipHop-Kultur als globales Phänomen im Hinblick auf ihre geschichtliche Entstehung und ihrer lokale Etablierung in der Wiener Jugendszene. Hinterfragt wird die Position des österreichischen HipHops in der österreichischen Medien- und Musiklandschaft. Beleuchtet wird das Thema aus einer wirtschaftlichen, sozial- und medienkritischen Perspektive. Wir stellen uns die Frage, wieso österreichischer HipHop am heimischen Markt keine Aufmerksamkeit zugesprochen wird. Mit Hilfe eines standardisierten Fragebogens befragen wir die Öffentlichkeit unter anderem zu ihrer Meinung über eine Einführung einer Quotenregelung. Wir wollen in Erfahrung bringen, ob durch mehr Zuwendung der Medien und der Musikindustrie, dem HipHop-Genre zu einem Aufschwung am österreichischen Musikmarkt verholfen werden kann.The thesis our diploma deals with the the austrian hiphop culture and their problem gaining interest from the mass media as well as from the musikbusiness. It is difficult for austrian rappers to gain public interest by staying in the underground. The main theory describes the follwing problem: Could it be possible for Austrian HipHop-Artists to gain more attention from the media, the industrie and the public? Is mass media capable of increasing the popularity of this urban culture by giving them more airplay

6 in 1: Publikationen, Forschungsdaten, Projekte, Forschende, Einrichtungen, Auszeichnungen

Die Universität Bamberg hat ein Forschungsinformationssystem (FIS) auf Basis von DSpace-CRIS eingeführt. In enger Zusammenarbeit zwischen Universitätsbibliothek, IT-Service und Dezernat Forschungsförderung & Transfer ist ein umfassendes System entstanden, das alle Forschungsaktivitäten an der Universität Bamberg vernetzt darstellt. Das FIS enthält Projekte, Auszeichnungen, Preise und Profile der Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Universität und verknüpft sie mit Publikationen und Forschungsdaten. Damit erfüllt es zugleich die Funktion als institutionelles Repositorium und Universitätsbibliografie. Das FIS ist an das zentrale Identitätsmanagement der Universität über Shibboleth angebunden. Publikationen und bibliografische Daten können über ein Formular eingegeben oder aus externen Quellen (Datenbanken, B3Kat, LOC, CrossRef, DataCite) übernommen werden und sind mit Normdaten (GND für Personennamen) verknüpft. Weitere Ser­vices wie ORCID und SHERPA/RoMEO sind implementiert. Publikationslisten können automatisiert in beliebigen Zitationsstilen in die Webseiten der Universität eingebunden werden. Zudem bildet das FIS die zentrale Arbeitsumgebung zur Open-Access-Publikation von Monografien im Universitätsverlag sowie zur Verwaltung der Universitätsbibliografie und stellt eine Grundlage für die leistungsorientierte Mittelvergabe dar

Effectiveness and cost-efficiency of phosphate binders in hemodialysis

Health political background: In 2006, the prevalence of chronic renal insufficiency in Germany was 91,718, of which 66,508 patients were on dialysis. The tendency is clearly growing. Scientific background: Chronic renal insufficiency results in a disturbance of the mineral balance. It leads to hyperphosphataemia, which is the strongest independent risk factor for mortality in renal patients. Usually, a reduction in the phosphate intake through nutrition and the amount of phosphate filtered out during dialysis are not sufficient to reduce the serum phosphate values to the recommended value. Therefore, phosphate binders are used to bind ingested phosphate in the digestive tract in order to lower the phosphate concentration in the serum. Four different groups of phosphate binders are available: calcium- and aluminium salts are the traditional therapies. Sevelamer and Lanthanum are recent developments on the market. In varying doses, all phosphate binders are able to effectively lower phosphate concentrations. However, drug therapies have achieved recommended phosphate levels in only 50 percent of patients during the last years. Research questions: How effective and efficient are the different phosphate binders in chronic renal insufficient patients? Methods: The systematic literature search yielded 1,251 abstracts. Following a two-part selection process with predefined criteria 18 publications were included in the assessment. Results: All studies evaluated conclude that serum phosphate, serum calcium and intact parathyroid hormone can be controlled effectively with all phosphate binders. Only the number of episodes of hypercalcaemia is higher when using calcium-containing phosphatebinders compared to Sevelamer and Lanthanum. Regarding the mortality rate, the cardiovascular artery calcification and bone metabolism no definite conclusions can be drawn. In any case, the amount of calcification at study start seems to be crucial for the further development of the cardiovascular calcification. Economic studies show higher costs for Sevelamer and Lanthanum compared to calcium-containing phosphate binders. Discussion: Only a few well documented primary studies on the effectiveness of phosphate binders are available. Particularly long-term studies with a robust study design and transparent documentation are lacking. Ten of the eleven primary studies included in this report were conducted in only 539 patients from five patient collectives. Conclusions: From a medical point of view, Sevelamer shows some superiority over calcium-containing phosphate binders based on the current data, at least for special indications. The validity of the present Health Technology Assessment (HTA) report is significantly limited due to the limited number of available publications, the low sample size of treated patients, as well as the fact that the majority of studies are based on the same patient collectives. Prospective long-term studies not funded by the industry with adequate sample sizes and comparable study designs are called for to make authoritative statements regarding the medical effectiveness and safety of Sevelamer and Lanthanum, as well as regarding their economic efficiency