Soziale Integration und Mediennutzung von Jugendlichen aus Kroatien in Österreich

Die Frage nach der Sozialintegration steht in Österreich immer wieder im Mittelpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit. In einem Land, in dem über 1,5 Millionen EinwohnerInnen einen Migrationshintergrund vorweisen können und somit jede/r fünfte Einwohner/in nicht österreichische/r Staatsbürger/in ist, stellt die Tatsache, dass Österreich für potentielle MigrantInnen ein beliebtes „Einwanderungsland“ ist, keine Überraschung dar. Unterschiedlichste Wissenschaftsdisziplinen beschäftigen sich intensiv mit MigrantInnen und deren Integration in die österreichische Gesellschaft. Zum Thema soziale Integration von Jugendlichen mit kroatischem Migrationshintergrund in Österreich gibt es jedoch bisher kaum Publikationen. KroatInnen wurden in Österreich immer wieder gleichgesetzt betrachtet mit Personen aus dem ehemaligen Jugoslawien und in einen Topf mit anderen Nationen aus dem ehemaligem Jugoslawien geworfen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Integration der jungen KroatInnen - getrennt von anderen Nationen - unter anderem deren Mediennutzung zu analysieren. In der Studie der vorliegenden Arbeit wird mit Hilfe einer Online-Befragung untersucht, ob ein Zusammenhang besteht zwischen der Nutzung von österreichischen bzw. kroatischen Medienangeboten und dem Integrationsgrad junger MigrantInnen aus Kroatien, die in Österreich leben. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass Jugendliche aus Kroatien sehr gut in der österreichischen Gesellschaft integriert sind. Sie nutzen Medienangebote beider Länder, wobei österreichische Medien häufiger genutzt werden. Fast alle sprechen sehr gut oder gut Deutsch, was ein Schlüsselfaktor für eine erfolgreiche Integration ist. Mit ihren Eltern sprechen sie Kroatisch, aber in ihrem beruflichen Alltag und in der Schule bzw. an der Universität sprechen sie Deutsch. Die Mehrheit der befragten Personen kommt im Alltag in Österreich sehr gut oder gut zurecht. Ihre Freunde kommen meistens aus verschiedenen Ländern und die Hälfte der Jugendlichen fühlt sich gleichermaßen in beiden Ländern zu Hause. Dem Großteil gefällt es in Österreich und sie fühlen sich sehr gut oder ziemlich gut integriert.Austria is a country where over one and a half million people have immigrants’ roots and where every fifth person is in fact not Austrian citizen. Since it is considered to be one of the favorite “immigration countries”, the question of the social integration is providing a heated debate and continuously takes an important position in academic community. Although the issue of immigrants and their integration in the Austrian society has been approached from various disciplines, integration of Croatian youth has so far received negligible academic attention. Moreover, scholars have so far focused on the integration of “the people from the former Yugoslavia” and have approached the issue of Croatian immigrants’ integration in an amalgam with all other nations from the former Yugoslavia. The aim of this thesis is to shed some lights on the integration of young Croats, where they are methodologically separated from the rest of Yugoslavian nations. The research focuses on the media usage where the chosen method is online survey. The goal of the thesis is to analyse the use of media among young Croats by analytically separating them from other nations of the former Yugoslavia. By using the online survey the author attempts to answer the question: What is the relationship between usage of Austrian or Croatian media for the level of integration of young immigrants? The results show that young Croats are fairly well integrated to Austrian society. In general they use media from both countries, but with greater accent to the Austrian ones. Large majority of the research participants speaks German good or very good, which is accounted to be the key factor for their successful integration. While they tend to speak Croatian with members of their family, in a more formal surrounding such as school or university they use German language. Their friends come from various countries and most of the survey participants feel at home in both Austria and Croatia. Vast majority likes Austria as a country and feels well integrated in the Austrian society

Single HA2 Mutation Increases the Infectivity and Immunogenicity of a Live Attenuated H5N1 Intranasal Influenza Vaccine Candidate Lacking NS1

Our finding suggests that an efficient intranasal vaccination with a live attenuated H5N1 virus may require a certain level of pH and temperature stability of HA in order to achieve an optimal virus uptake by the nasal epithelial cells and induce a sufficient immune response. The pH of the activation of the H5 HA protein may play a substantial role in the infectivity of HPAIVs for mammals

Influenza A Virus Induces an Immediate Cytotoxic Activity in All Major Subsets of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

A replication defective influenza A vaccine virus (delNS1 virus) was developed. Its attenuation is due to potent stimulation of the innate immune system by the virus. Since the innate immune system can also target cancer cells, we reasoned that delNS1 virus induced immune-stimulation should also lead to the induction of innate cytotoxic effects towards cancer cells.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), isolated CD56+, CD3+, CD14+ and CD19+ subsets and different combinations of the above subsets were stimulated by delNS1, wild type (wt) virus or heat inactivated virus and co-cultured with tumor cell lines in the presence or absence of antibodies against the interferon system. Stimulation of PBMCs by the delNS1 virus effectively induced cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines. Surprisingly, virus induced cytotoxicity was exerted by all major subtypes of PBMCs including CD56+, CD3+, CD14+ and CD19+ cells. Virus induced cytotoxicity in CD3+, CD14+ and CD19+ cells was dependent on virus replication, whereas virus induced cytotoxicity in CD56+ cells was only dependent on the binding of the virus. Virus induced cytotoxicity of isolated cell cultures of CD14+, CD19+ or CD56+ cells could be partially blocked by antibodies against type I and type II (IFN) interferon. In contrast, virus induced cytotoxicity in the complete PBMC preparation could not be inhibited by blocking type I or type II IFN, indicating a redundant system of activation in whole blood.Our data suggest that apart from their well known specialized functions all main subsets of peripheral blood cells also initially exert a cytotoxic effect upon virus stimulation. This closely links the innate immune system to the adaptive immune response and renders delNS1 virus a potential therapeutic tool for viro-immunotherapy of cancer

Beta catenin and cytokine pathway dysregulation in patients with manifestations of the "PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome"

Background. The "PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome" (PHTS) includes a group of syndromes caused by germline mutations within the tumor suppressor gene "phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten" (PTEN), characterized by multiple polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and by a highly increased risk of developing malignant tumours in many tissues. The current work clarifies the molecular basis of PHTS in three unrelated Italian patients, and sheds light on molecular pathway disregulation constitutively associated to PTEN alteration. Methods. We performed a combination of RT-PCR, PCR, sequencing of the amplified fragments, Real Time PCR and western blot techniques. Results. Our data provide the first evidence of β-catenin accumulation in blood cells of patients with hereditary cancer syndrome caused by germ-line PTEN alteration. In addition, for the first time we show, in all PHTS patients analysed, alterations in the expression of TNFα, its receptors and IL-10. Importantly, the isoform of TNFRI that lacks the DEATH domain (TNFRSF1β) was found to be overexpressed. Conclusion. In light of our findings, we suggest that the PTEN pathway disregulation could determine, in non-neoplastic cells of PHTS patients, cell survival and pro-inflammatory stimulation, mediated by the expression of molecules such as β-catenin, TNFα and TNFα receptors, which could predispose these patients to the development of multiple cancers

Non-irradiation-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cancer: therapeutic implications

Owing to their chemical reactivity, radicals have cytocidal properties. Destruction of cells by irradiation-induced radical formation is one of the most frequent interventions in cancer therapy. An alternative to irradiation-induced radical formation is in principle drug-induced formation of radicals, and the formation of toxic metabolites by enzyme catalysed reactions. Although these developments are currently still in their infancy, they nevertheless deserve consideration. There are now numerous examples known of conventional anti-cancer drugs that may at least in part exert cytotoxicity by induction of radical formation. Some drugs, such as arsenic trioxide and 2-methoxy-estradiol, were shown to induce programmed cell death due to radical formation. Enzyme-catalysed radical formation has the advantage that cytotoxic products are produced continuously over an extended period of time in the vicinity of tumour cells. Up to now the enzymatic formation of toxic metabolites has nearly exclusively been investigated using bovine serum amine oxidase (BSAO), and spermine as substrate. The metabolites of this reaction, hydrogen peroxide and aldehydes are cytotoxic. The combination of BSAO and spermine is not only able to prevent tumour cell growth, but prevents also tumour growth, particularly well if the enzyme has been conjugated with a biocompatible gel. Since the tumour cells release substrates of BSAO, the administration of spermine is not required. Combination with cytotoxic drugs, and elevation of temperature improves the cytocidal effect of spermine metabolites. The fact that multidrug resistant cells are more sensitive to spermine metabolites than their wild type counterparts makes this new approach especially attractive, since the development of multidrug resistance is one of the major problems of conventional cancer therapy

Post-transcriptional control during chronic inflammation and cancer: a focus on AU-rich elements

A considerable number of genes that code for AU-rich mRNAs including cytokines, growth factors, transcriptional factors, and certain receptors are involved in both chronic inflammation and cancer. Overexpression of these genes is affected by aberrations or by prolonged activation of several signaling pathways. AU-rich elements (ARE) are important cis-acting short sequences in the 3′UTR that mediate recognition of an array of RNA-binding proteins and affect mRNA stability and translation. This review addresses the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are common between inflammation and cancer and that also govern ARE-mediated post-transcriptional control. The first part examines the role of the ARE-genes in inflammation and cancer and sequence characteristics of AU-rich elements. The second part addresses the common signaling pathways in inflammation and cancer that regulate the ARE-mediated pathways and how their deregulations affect ARE-gene regulation and disease outcome

Cancer‐driven changes link T cell frequency to muscle strength in people with cancer: a pilot study

Abstract Background Tumour growth can promote the loss of muscle mass and function. This is particularly disturbing because overall survival is significantly reduced in people with weaker and smaller skeletal muscle. The risk of cancer is also greater in people who are immune deficient. Muscle wasting in mice with cancer can be inhibited by infusion of CD4+ precursor T cells that restore balanced ratios of naïve, memory, and regulatory T cells. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that stronger anti‐cancer T cell immunity leads to improved muscle mass and function. As a first step to testing this hypothesis, we determined whether levels of circulating T cell subsets correlate with levels of muscle strength in people with cancer. Methods The frequency of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ naïve, memory, and regulatory T cell subsets was quantified in 11 men with gastrointestinal cancer (aged 59.3 ± 10.1 years) and nine men without cancer (aged 60 ± 13 years), using flow cytometry. T cell marker expression was determined using real‐time PCR and western blot analyses in whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Handgrip strength, one‐repetition maximum chest press, and knee extension tests were used to determine muscle strength. Performance was determined using a stair climb test. Body composition was determined using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry scan. The Karnofsky and ECOG scales were used to assess functional impairment. Correlations between frequencies of cell subsets with strength, performance, and body composition were determined using regression analyses. Results Our data show significant correlations between (i) higher frequencies of CD8+ naïve (P = 0.02) and effector memory (P = 0.003) T cells and lower frequencies of CD8+ central memory T cells (P = 0.002) with stronger handgrip strength, (ii) lower frequency of regulatory cells with greater lean mass index (P = 0.04), (iii) lower frequency of CD8+ T cells that express CD95 with greater stair climb power (P = 0.003), (iv) higher frequency of T cells that co‐express CD197 and CD45RA and greater one‐repetition maximum knee extension strength (P = 0.008), and (iv) higher expression of CD4 in whole blood with greater functional impairment (P = 0.004) in people with cancer. Conclusions We have identified significant correlations between levels of T cell populations and muscle strength, performance, and body composition in people with cancer. These data justify a follow‐up study with a larger cohort to test the validity of the findings

Establishment of a Chimeric, Replication-Deficient Influenza A Virus Vector by Modulation of Splicing Efficiency▿

Segment 8 of the influenza A virus codes for two proteins (NS1 and NS2/NEP) via splicing. Here, we developed a viral vector expressing a cytokine or chemokine instead of the interferon antagonist NS1. To achieve both the desired genetic stability and high transgene expression levels, NS2/NEP mRNA splicing efficacy had to be fine-tuned by modification of splicing elements. Expression levels of secreted foreign proteins could be further enhanced by fusing the N-terminal 13 amino acids of NS1 with an IgK-derived secretion signal peptide. Thus, the first start codon was used for translation initiation of both NS2/NEP and the foreign protein