IL-6, IL-12, and IL-23 STAT-Pathway Genetic Risk and Responsiveness of Lymphocytes in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease characterized by central nervous system (CNS) lymphocyte infiltration, abundant production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and inappropriate activation of Th1 and Th17 cells, B cells, and innate immune cells. The etiology of MS is complex, and genetic factors contribute to disease susceptibility. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed numerous MS-risk alleles in the IL-6/STAT3, IL-12/STAT4, and IL-23/STAT3-pathways implicated in the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 cells. In this study, we investigated the signaling properties of these pathways in T, B, and NK cells from patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and healthy controls, and assessed the genetic contribution to the activity of the pathways. This revealed a great variability in the level of STAT-pathway molecules and STAT activation between the cell types investigated. We also found a strong donor variation in IL-6, IL-12, and IL-23 responsiveness of primed CD4+ T cells. This variation could not be explained by a single MS-risk variant in a pathway component, or by an accumulation of multiple STAT-pathway MS-risk SNPs. The data of this study suggests that other factors in cohesion with the genetic background contribute to the responsiveness of the IL-6/STAT3, IL-12/STAT4, and IL-23/STAT3-pathways

Broad-band spectrophotometry of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-12b from the near-UV to the near-IR

The detection of trends or gradients in the transmission spectrum of extrasolar planets is possible with observations at very low spectral resolution. Transit measurements of sufficient accuracy using selected broad-band filters allow for an initial characterization of the atmosphere of the planet. We obtained time series photometry of 20 transit events and analyzed them homogeneously, along with eight light curves obtained from the literature. In total, the light curves span a range from 0.35 to 1.25 microns. During two observing seasons over four months each, we monitored the host star to constrain the potential influence of starspots on the derived transit parameters. We rule out the presence of a Rayleigh slope extending over the entire optical wavelength range, a flat spectrum is favored for HAT-P-12b with respect to a cloud-free atmosphere model spectrum. A potential cause of such gray absorption is the presence of a cloud layer at the probed latitudes. Furthermore, in this work we refine the transit parameters, the ephemeris and perform a TTV analysis in which we found no indication for an unseen companion. The host star showed a mild non-periodic variability of up to 1%. However, no stellar rotation period could be detected to high confidence.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Om illegal jakt i Fennoskandia

Ett ökat missnöje bland delar av landsbygdsbefolkningen och jägarsamhället gentemot bevarandepolitiken för stora rovdjur har påverkat den sociopolitiskt motiverade illegala jakten på dessa arter. Denna typ av jaktbrott har legat som grund för undersökningen i ett tvärvetenskapligt internationellt samarbetsprojekt lett av forskare vid Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, vid Ultuna. Efter tre år av djupintervjuer med jägare, en enkätundersökning, jämförelser med andra delar av världen och nära samarbete med forskare i Fennoskandia avslutades projektet 2016. Föreliggande rapport fullbordar resultatförmedlingen och den avslutande diskussionen omkring forskningsresultaten från projektet och ger samtidigt uppslag för framtida forskning. För första gången presenterades hela projektet och dess medlemmar för en publik bestående av praktiker och intressegrupper runt jakt. Rapporten sammanfattar på detta sätt två dagars temadiskussioner i en workshop med 45 representanter från olika samhällssektorer, bland annat jägare- jordbruks- och naturskyddsorganisationer, länsstyrelser, Naturvårdsverket, polis och åklagare som de ser ut i länderna som utgör Fennoskandia: Sverige, Norge, Danmark och Finland. Diskussionerna handlade om social kontroll och illegal jakt, att flytta viltförvaltningen till domstolarna, EUs inflytande och olika plattformar för att förebygga illegal jakt, speciellt på stora rovdjur, som vargar. Rapporten riktar sig till både forskare och praktiker som möter problem med social accepterade, men hemliga och gömda, former av illegal jakt som i sin tur beror av statsapparatens legitimitetskris, misstro mot politik och politiker och som också är en manifestation för landsbygdens motstånd i ett modernt samhälle.The following report marks the dissemination and discussion of the research results and insights for future research produced by this project. Hence, it represents the first time the full research project and its members stand before the public and interest groups. The report synthesizes two days of workshop thematic discussions between 45 participants from societal sectors including hunting and nature conservation NGOs, county administrative boards, Environmental Protection Agencies, law enforcement, environmental attorneys and farming associations as they feature across the Fennoscandian countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Its discussions center on social control in wildlife crime, the juridification of hunting issues, the influence of the EU and platforms for going forward to mitigate poaching, in particular of large carnivores like the wolf. The report is an essential read for both researchers and practitioners faced with the problem of socially accepted, but secretive and hidden, forms of illegal hunting in response to governmental legitimacy crises, distrust of policy and policy-makers, and as a manifestation of rural resistance in modernity

On illegal killings of wildlife in Fennoscandia

Rising levels of discontent among rural residents and parts of the hunting community toward large carnivore conservation policy has effected a phenomenon of socio-politically motivated illegal killing of these unpopular species. Such wildlife crime formed the investigation of an interdisciplinary and internationally collaborative research project headed by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Ultuna, Uppsala. Through 3 years of in-depth interview studies with hunters in Sweden, a quantitative survey to hunters, comparative studies in other parts of the world and close collaboration with Fennoscandian researchers and practitioners, this project ran to completion at the end of 2016. The following report marks the dissemination and discussion of the research results and insights for future research produced by this project. Hence, it represents the first time the full research project and its members stand before the public and interest groups. The report synthesizes two days of workshop thematic discussions between 45 participants from societal sectors including hunting and nature conservation NGOs, county administrative boards, Environmental Protection Agencies, law enforcement, environmental attorneys and farming associations as they feature across the Fennoscandian countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Its discussions center on social control in wildlife crime, the juridification of hunting issues, the influence of the EU and platforms for going forward to mitigate poaching, in particular of large carnivores like the wolf. The report is an essential read for both researchers and practitioners faced with the problem of socially accepted, but secretive and hidden, forms of illegal hunting in response to governmental legitimacy crises, distrust of policy and policy-makers, and as a manifestation of rural resistance in modernity

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Have Greater Systemic Responsiveness to Ex Vivo Stimulation with Swine Dust Extract and its Components Versus Healthy Volunteers

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by an airway and systemic inflammatory response. Bioaerosols/organic dusts are important agricultural pollutants that may lead to COPD. These environments are complex containing a rich source of various microbial components. The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with COPD have enhanced systemic responsiveness to settled swine facility organic dust extract (ODE) or its main pathogenic components (peptidoglycan [PGN], lipopolysaccharide [LPS]) versus healthy volunteers. A modified whole blood assay (WBA) that included occupational levels of ODE and concentrations of LPS and PGN found in ODE was used to determine systemic responsiveness (mediator release), and sputum inflammatory markers were measured to explore for systemic and airway associations. Sputum samples were evaluated for cell counts, and TNF-α, IL-8/CXCL8, IL-6, and IL-10. Ex vivo whole blood stimulation with ODE, LPS, and PGN each resulted in significant mediator release in all subjects, the highest occurring with ODE; PGN resulted in significantly enhanced TNF-α and IL-8 as compared to LPS. COPD subjects demonstrated greater systemic responsiveness using the modified WBA versus healthy controls. Within COPD subjects, blood baseline TNF-α, IL-8, and IL-10 and ODE, PGN, and LPS-stimulated IL-8 levels significantly correlated with lung function. In conclusion, dust-induced mediator release was robust, and PGN, in part, resembled dust-induced mediator release. Subjects with COPD demonstrated increased mediator release following ex vivo whole blood stimulation with bioaerosol components suggesting that circulating blood cells in COPD subjects may be primed to respond greater to microbial/inflammatory insult