The role of innate lymphoid cells in liver disease : Identification of a hepatic IL-13-producing ILC3-like population potentially involved in liver fibrosis

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a family of innate immune cells that mirror the functionality of T lymphocytes but do not express rearranged antigen receptors. As tissue-resident cells, ILCs primarily reside in peripheral organs and at mucosal surfaces where they engage in local immune responses as well as in homeostatic or metabolic processes. Accumulating evidence indicates that ILCs are critically involved in numerous inflammatory diseases affecting various tissues of the body. However, data on the composition and biological function of human liver-resident ILCs and their role in liver fibrosis are scarce and published studies have reported conflicting results. The work in this thesis aimed to significantly improve our current knowledge by providing a detailed characterisation of the human intrahepatic ILC pool and by further assessing its involvement in hepatic fibrogenesis. For this purpose, tissue-resident ILCs were isolated from non-fibrotic and fibrotic or cirrhotic livers and analyzed using proteomic, transcriptional as well as functional assays. For comparative analyses, ILCs isolated from tonsillar and colon tissue, as well as from peripheral blood were additionally included in this project. Intrahepatic ILC3, which are currently considered to mainly comprise immature ILC precursors, were found to display a liver-specific capacity to produce the ILC2-specific cytokine IL-13. Given their considerably high proportion among intrahepatic ILCs, they in fact constitute the major IL-13-producing ILC subset in the human liver. Fibrotic or cirrhotic liver samples were characterized by an accumulation of this cell type which correlated with disease severity. Mechanistically, both IL-13 and stimulated liver ILC3 induced a pro-inflammatory profile in hepatic stellate cells, revealing a modulatory impact of tissue-resident ILCs on one of the major profibrogenic cell types in liver fibrosis. Studies of ILC plasticity identified liver-specifically enriched KLRG1-expressing ILC precursors to acquire a similar molecular phenotype under ILC3-priming conditions, thereby constituting the putative progenitor of IL-13-expressing liver ILC3. In summary, this study provides the first description of a so far unrecognized subset of IL-13+ ILC3 in the human liver, indicating that the pool of intrahepatic IL-13-producing ILCs is drastically underestimated up to date. The first evidence on their involvement in hepatic fibrogenesis and on their developmental trajectory might make a small but significant contribution to a better understanding of the biological role of human ILCs in the liver

Estimation of seasonal dynamics of understory NDVI in northern forests using MODIS BRDF data: semi-empirical versus physically-based approach

The spatial and temporal patterns of the forest background reflectance are critically important for retrieving the biophysical parameters of the forest canopy (overstory) and for ecosystem modeling. In this short communication paper, we retrieved the seasonal courses of understory Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from MODIS BRDF data using the semi-empirical and physically-based approach. We compared the satellite-based understory NDVI series to seasonal courses of understory NDVI measured in the forests for three full growing seasons in boreal and hemiboreal sites in Northern Europe. Our results indicated both semi-empirical and physically-based approaches using MODIS BRDF data do have a potential to track seasonal changes in understory NDVI. Differences in the performance between of the two retrieval methods can be expected within the boreal zone depending on the level of forest fragmentation.Peer reviewe

The torque motor mass dependance from the tape winding coils number

В статье приведен расчет массы активных частей моментного двигателя в зависимости от числа витков ленточной намотки. Ленточная намотка представляет собой спирально намотанную электропроводящую ленту на немагнитную гильзу и является заменой традиционной обмотки. Применение ленточной намотки позволяет повысить удельные характеристики двигателя. Активные части моментного двигателя состоят из внешней магнитной системы, внутренней магнитной системы, гильзы и ленточной намотки. Полученные результаты, в совокупности с аналогичными исследованиямиразвиваемого момента и потребляемой двигателем мощности от количества витков намотки - позволят определить оптимальное количество витков ленточной намотки, при котором статическая добротность двигателя, представляющая собой отношение развиваемого момента к произведению квадратного корня из величины потребляемой мощности и массы двигателя, будет наибольшей.The paper presents the calculations of torque motor active parts mass in dependence of the tape winding coil's number. The tape winding is a spirally wound electroconductive tape on the non-magnetic tubular base. The tape winding changes the conventional winding. The application of the tape winding allows increasing the specific characteristics of the motor. The active parts of the motor consist of the outer magnetic system, inner magnetic system, tubular base and tape winding. The obtained results together with the similar studies of torque and power consumption from the tape winding coil's number allow determining the optimum coil's number. In this case the Qfactor of the motor will be the greatest

Elements of research in musical phonetics course (on the issue of sociocultural adaptation of migrants)

Актуальность исследования связана с трудностями, возникающими при проживании, обучении, работе мигрантов, детей мигрантов в России как принимающей стране, и поисками путей обеспечения лучшей адаптации данного контингента граждан. Цель работы: рассмотреть возможности, целесообразность, результаты использования исследовательской лингводидактики по русскому языку как фактора лучшей адаптации мигрантов, детей мигрантов в принимающей стране. Методы исследования: системный, сравнительный, описательный, метод анализа. Результатами исследования являются следующие выводы: когда мигрант приезжает в чужую страну, то делает выбор из нескольких стратегий. Трудовые и учебные мигранты имеют большие, чем у других, стимулы как можно скорее адаптироваться в принимающее общество. Для трудовой деятельности мигрантов (37 % трудовых мигрантов заняты в строительстве, 30 % - в торговле, 10 % - в промышленности) актуальны, по мнению социологов, такие задачи, как формирование и развитие способности быстрой адаптации; приложение приобретенных умений и знаний в условиях изменяющихся требований к профессиональной деятельности. Трудности мигрантов с языком, адаптацией (у детей - с успеваемостью) целесообразно преодолевать с помощью исследовательской лингводидактики, поскольку требуемая в её рамках деятельность связана с выполнением творческой задачи с заранее неизвестным решением. Применение названных исследовательских методик, средств, приёмов (в т. ч. специального курса «Музыкальной фонетики») в обучении мигрантов русскому языку, во-первых, поможет развить критическое, творческое мышление учащихся, необходимое им (возможно, в будущем) для решения профессиональных задач с использованием русского (второго) языка. Во-вторых, результаты будут способствовать социокультурной и иной адаптации мигрантов, детей мигрантов в принимающей стране.The relevance of the research is related to difficulties in accommodation, training, work of migrants, their children in Russia as a host country and finding ways to ensure better adaptation of this contingent of citizens. The aim of the research is to consider the possibilities for expediency, the results of use of the research methods as a better adaptation of migrants, children of migrants in the host country. Methods: systemic, comparative, descriptive analysis. The results. The results of the study are the following conclusions. Where a migrant arrives to a foreign country, he/she makes a choice of several strategies. Employment and training migrants have incentives to adapt as soon as possible in the host society. According to sociologists, for employment of migrants (37 % of labour migrants are employed in construction, 30 % in trade, 10 % in industry) such tasks as formation and development of the ability to rapid adaptation; application of skills and knowledge acquired in the context of the changing requirements for professional activities are relevant. Difficulties of migrants and their children with language and adaptation can be overcame using research methods, as required in the framework activities is associated with implementation of creative tasks with previously unknown solution. Application of the above-mentioned methods, means, and techniques (including a special course "Musical Phonetics") in teaching migrants the Russian language will help develop critical, creative thinking of students they need (maybe in the future) for solving professional tasks using Russian as a second language. Secondly, the results will contribute to socio-cultural-and other adaptation of migrants, their children in the host country

A dataset of leaf inclination angles for temperate and boreal broadleaf woody species

International audienceNo abstract availabl

User-Centric Secure Data Sharing: Exploration of Concepts and Values

Data we handle and generate when using Internet-based services reveals information on our behavior and values. Access control to this data most often lies in the hands of service or storage providers. With regard to the value ladenness of data sharing in particular, we propose to shift the focus back to the user by introducing the concept of User-Centric Secure Data Sharing (UC-SDS). The UC-SDS approach aims at combining technologies and methodologies from the fields of secure data sharing, secure data outsourcing and value-oriented design. In this paper, we discuss design alternatives using the example of car telemetry data, considering their value interdependencies with particular emphasis on the legal context. Our work indicates that through combination of available building blocks, a higher level of user-centricity in access control is possible than we are used to today