Who is responsible in winter? Traffic accidents, the fight against hazardous weather and the role of law in a history of risks

This paper analyses the role of law in modern risk debates. Inspired by concepts of historical anthropology, it proposes to put more effort into the historical analysis of law and legal debates in order to understand long-term change in the history of everyday life. The paper takes the discussions on the establishment of a winter service in Germany in the first decades of the twentieth century as an example for this, and demonstrates how legal experts reflected changed perceptions of both nature and related everyday risks and gave them a practical legal meaning by integrating them into existing and widely accepted legal concepts. By doing so, the legal discourse on hazardous weather conditions added significantly to the paradigm shift towards a greater role of the state in the mitigation of everyday risks. As in other debates on everyday risks, law functioned as a hinge between risk perception and risk management

Chebychev Trajectory Optimization Program /CHEBYTOP/ Final report

Digital computer program for interplanetary trajectory optimization and variable thrust dat

Risk as a category of analysis for a social history of the twentieth century: an introduction

Risks are of particular relevance for the social history of the twentieth century. On the one hand, Western societies’ economic growth gave impetus to the rise of new technologies. Technology, we argue, brought with it new possibilities, but it was also loaded with new risks. On the other hand, societies discussed and explored new notions of responsibility for risks, their management and mitigation. Both aspects changed the meaning and perception of traditional risks, such as natural catastrophes, sickness or falling into poverty. In this introduction, we explore the use of risk as a category of analysis for a social history of the twentieth century. In a form of double-intervention on time and methodology, we, on the one hand, hold risks as a 'phenomenon' to be of particular relevance - even characteristic for - the twentieth century; on the other hand, we posit that risk as an analytical category offers us new avenues into understanding modern societies in three important ways: (1) the importance of time and future in human actions and debates, (2) the dual nature of risks as discursively constructed and simultaneously material, (3) the social justice implications of this dual nature that were often unequally shared, be it nationally or globally. In the end, we argue, by linking the materiality of challenges and risks with how these were perceived and discursively constructed, we are better able to understand the rules and the changes that underpin historical societies and which are - as our authors show in this HSR Special Issue - very often determined in reaction to risks

Covalent Coercion by Legionella pneumophila

Adenylylation of Rab proteins appears to be an intriguing mechanism that Legionella pneumophila uses to modulate their activity during infection. Now the reverse reaction (deadenylylation) (Neunuebel et al., 2011; Tan and Luo, 2011) and a new posttranslational modification (phosphocholination) of Rab1 (Mukherjee et al., 2011) have been reported

Risk as a category of analysis for a social history of the twentieth century: an introduction

Risks are of particular relevance for the social history of the twentieth century. On the one hand, Western societies’ economic growth gave impetus to the rise of new technologies. Technology, we argue, brought with it new possibilities, but it was also loaded with new risks. On the other hand, societies discussed and explored new notions of responsibility for risks, their management and mitigation. Both aspects changed the meaning and perception of traditional risks, such as natural catastrophes, sickness or falling into poverty. In this introduction, we explore the use of risk as a category of analysis for a social history of the twentieth century. In a form of double-intervention on time and methodology, we, on the one hand, hold risks as a 'phenomenon' to be of particular relevance - even characteristic for - the twentieth century; on the other hand, we posit that risk as an analytical category offers us new avenues into understanding modern societies in three important ways: (1) the importance of time and future in human actions and debates, (2) the dual nature of risks as discursively constructed and simultaneously material, (3) the social justice implications of this dual nature that were often unequally shared, be it nationally or globally. In the end, we argue, by linking the materiality of challenges and risks with how these were perceived and discursively constructed, we are better able to understand the rules and the changes that underpin historical societies and which are - as our authors show in this HSR Special Issue - very often determined in reaction to risks..

Caseins as Regulators of Hematopoiesis

The main physiological role of casein, the main protein component in the milk, is to be a source of amino acids that are required for the growth of the neonate; therefore, casein is considered a highly nutritious protein. Over time, it has been revealed that casein is a protein whose physiological importance reaches levels far superior to the food field, having a wide array of biological activities including antimicrobial activities, facilitating absorption of nutrients, as well as acting as a growth factor and an immune stimulant. Here we analyze how caseins can exert numerous hematopoietic and immunomodulatory actions, their role in granulopoiesis, monocytopoiesis, and lymphopoiesis from the early stages of postnatal development seemingly throughout life, and we wonder if casein could be useful to fight pathogens resistant to antibiotics, inducing a strong immune response in immunosuppressed patients, or even be a prophylactic strategy to prevent infections

Atomic resolution structure of EhpR: phenazine resistance in Enterobacter agglomerans Eh1087 follows principles of bleomycin / mitomycin C resistance in other bacteria

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract Background The phenazines are redox-active secondary metabolites that a large number of bacterial strains produce and excrete into the environment. They possess antibiotic activity owing to the fact that they can reduce molecular oxygen to toxic reactive oxygen species. In order to take advantage of this activity, phenazine producers need to protect themselves against phenazine toxicity. Whereas it is believed that phenazine-producing pseudomonads possess highly active superoxide dismutases and catalases, it has recently been found that the plant-colonizing bacterium Enterobacter agglomerans expresses a small gene ehpR to render itself resistant towards D-alanyl-griseoluteic acid, the phenazine antibiotic produced by this strain. Results To understand the resistance mechanism installed by EhpR we have determined its crystal structure in the apo form at 2.15 Å resolution and in complex with griseoluteic acid at 1.01 Å, respectively. While EhpR shares a common fold with glyoxalase-I/bleomycin resistance proteins, the ligand binding site does not contain residues that some related proteins employ to chemically alter their substrates. Binding of the antibiotic is mediated by π-stacking interactions of the aromatic moiety with the side chains of aromatic amino acids and by a few polar interactions. The dissociation constant KD between EhpR and griseoluteic acid was quantified as 244 ± 45 μM by microscale thermophoresis measurements. Conclusions The data accumulated here suggest that EhpR confers resistance by binding D-alanyl-griseoluteic acid and acting as a chaperone involved in exporting the antibiotic rather than by altering it chemically. It is tempting to speculate that EhpR acts in concert with EhpJ, a transport protein of the major facilitator superfamily that is also encoded in the phenazine biosynthesis operon of E. agglomerans. The low affinity of EhpR for griseoluteic acid may be required for its physiological function.Peer Reviewe

El caseinato de sodio incrementa número de linfocitos B en ratones

Introduction: Sodium caseinate, a casein salt, is a proinflammatory agent in mice, and it is able to induce granulopoiesis in vivo and to increase the production of cytokines, which is key for this biological process.Objective: To assess whether sodium caseinate is able to induce a biological effect on cells from lymphoid origin and the production of cytokines involved in this lineage in vivo.Materials and methods: We used female BALB /c mice from 8 to 12 weeks old. The animals were injected intraperitoneally (IP) with 1 ml of sodium caseinate (10% PBS w/v) four times every 48 hours. The B cell populations and the incorporation of BrdU were analyzed by flow cytometry. Detection of interleukin-7 was assessed by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay).Results: We established that after intraperitoneal injection, the number of B lymphocytes 220+ from the spleen of mice treated with sodium caseinate increased compared to those that only received the vehicle (89.01±1.03 vs 75.66 ± 2.08), and the same was observed with the incorporation of BrdU in B220 + cells (38.59±4.48 vs 11.82±1.04 respectively). We also established that the concentration of interleukin-7 (IL-7) in the serum of mice treated with sodium caseinate increased compared to those that only received the vehicle (62.1 ± 17.5 vs 26.9 ± 4.4 pg/ml).Conclusion: Sodium caseinate was able to increase the number of B lymphocytes in the spleen; it also induced IL-7 production, a cytokine that is key for the B cell lymphopoiesis.Introducción. El caseinato de sodio, una sal de la caseína utilizada como agente proinflamatorio en ratones, es capaz de inducir granulopoyesis en vivo e incrementar la producción de citocinas esenciales en dicho evento.Objetivo. Evaluar si el caseinato de sodio es capaz de inducir un efecto biológico en células de origen linfoide y la producción de citocinas involucradas con este linaje.Materiales y métodos: Se utilizaron ratones hembra BALB/c de 8 a 12 semanas de edad. Los animales se inyectaron cuatro veces, con intervalos de 48 horas, por vía intraperitoneal con 1 ml de caseinato de sodio (10 % de SFB p/v). La población de linfocitos B y la incorporación de bromodesoxiuridina (BrdU) se analizaron mediante citometría de flujo. La detección de la interleucina 7 se evaluó mediante la técnica de ELISA.Resultados. Tras la inyección por vía intraperitoneal, el número de linfocitos B 220+ provenientes del bazo de ratones tratados con caseinato de sodio aumentó comparados con los que solo recibieron el vehículo como tratamiento (89,01±1,03 Vs. 75,66±2,08), así como la incorporación de BrdU en células B220+ (38,59±4,48 Vs. 11,82±1,04). Se evidenció, asimismo, el incremento en la concentración de la interleucina 7 (IL-7) en el suero de los ratones tratados con caseinato de sodio, comparados con los que solo recibieron el vehículo (62,1±17,5 Vs. 26,9±4,4 pg/ml).Conclusión. El caseinato de sodio fue capaz de aumentar el número de linfocitos B en bazo de ratones, así como inducir la producción de IL-7, citocina clave para la linfopoyesis B

El caseinato de sodio y la caseína α inhiben la proliferación de la línea celular mieloide de ratón 32D clone 3 (32Dcl3) mediante el TNF-α

Introduction: Sodium caseinate (CS) and its components (alpha-casein, beta-casein, and kappa-casein) have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of the mouse hematopoietic 32D clone 3 (32Dcl3) cell line and induce its differentiation into macrophages. It is well-known that alpha-casein induces IL-1β production and that this cytokine inhibits the proliferation via the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), but it is not known if CS and the caseins inhibit the proliferation via TNF-alpha production.Objective: To evaluate if CS and alpha-casein, beta-casein and kappa-casein inhibit the proliferation on 32Dcl3 cell line via TNF-alpha.Materials and methods: We used different concentrations of CS, alpha-casein, betacasein and kappa-casein in 32Dcl3 cells to evaluate cell proliferation. We assessed cell viability by MTT, induction to apoptosis by flow cytometry, and TNF-alpha synthesis by ELISA. Additionally, we performed anti-TNF-alpha neutralization assays on 32Dcl3 cells treated with CS and alpha-casein and we evaluated proliferation.Results: The results showed that CS, alpha-casein, beta-casein, and kappa-casein reduced proliferation of the 32Dcl3 cell line without affecting the viability and that only CS and alpha-casein induced apoptosis and the release of TNF-alpha. The 32Dcl3 cells treated with CS and alpha-casein reestablished their proliferation by using anti-TNF-alpha antibodies.Conclusion: TNF-alpha was the main responsible for the inhibition of proliferation in 32Dcl3 cells treated with CS or alpha-casein.Introducción. Se ha demostrado que el caseinato de sodio y sus componentes (caseínas α, β y κ) inhiben la proliferación de la línea celular hematopoyética de ratón 32D clone 3 (32Dcl3) e inducen su diferenciación hacia macrófagos. Se sabe que la caseína α induce la producción de IL-1β y que esta última citocina inhibe la proliferación celular mediante la producción del factor de necrosis tumoral alfa (TNF-α), pero se desconoce si el caseinato de sodio y las caseínas inducen la producción de TNF y si este es el responsable de la inhibición de la proliferación.Objetivo. Evaluar si el caseinato de sodio y las caseínas α, β y κ inhiben la proliferación de la línea celular 32Dcl3 mediante la producción de TNF-α.Materiales y métodos. Se usaron diferentes concentraciones de caseinato de sodio y de las caseínas α, β y κ en las células 32Dcl3. Posteriormente, se evaluaron la viabilidad celular mediante una prueba con el MTT [3-(4,5-dimetiltiazol-2-ilo)-2,5-difeniltetrazol], la inducción de apoptosis con la citometría de flujo y la síntesis del TNF-α con el ELISA. Además, se hicieron pruebas de neutralización con anti-TNF-α en células 32Dcl3 tratadas con caseinato de sodio y caseína α, y se evaluó la proliferación celular.Resultados. Se encontró que el caseinato de sodio y las caseínas α, β y κ reducían la proliferación de la línea celular 32Dcl3 sin afectar la viabilidad, y que solo el caseinato y la caseína α inducían la apoptosis y la liberación al medio de TNF-α. La proliferación de células 32Dcl3 tratadas con caseinato y caseína α se restableció al usar anticuerpos anti-TNF-α. Conclusión. El TNF-α fue el principal responsable de la inhibición de la proliferación en las células 32Dcl3 tratadas con caseinato de sodio o caseína α