Transgenic expression of the Ly49A natural killer cell receptor confers class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-specific inhibition and prevents bone marrow allograft rejection.

Natural killer (NK) cells and some T cells are endowed with receptors specific for class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules that can inhibit cellular effector functions. The function of the Ly49 receptor family has been studied in vitro, but no gene transfer experiments have directly established the role of these receptors in NK cell functions. We show here that transgenic expression of the H-2Dd-specific Ly49A receptor in all NK cells and T cells conferred class I-specific inhibition of NK cell-mediated target cell lysis as well as of T cell proliferation. Furthermore, transgene expression prevented NK cell-mediated rejection of allogeneic H-2d bone marrow grafts by irradiated mice. These results demonstrate the function and specificity of Ly49 receptors in vivo, and establish that their subset-specific expression is necessary for the discrimination of MHC-different cells by NK cells in unmanipulated mice

Kinks: Fingerprints of strong electronic correlations

The textbook knowledge of solid state physics is that the electronic specific heat shows a linear temperature dependence with the leading corrections being a cubic term due to phonons and a cubic-logarithmic term due to the interaction of electrons with bosons. We have shown that this longstanding conception needs to be supplemented since the generic behavior of the low-temperature electronic specific heat includes a kink if the electrons are sufficiently strongly correlatedComment: 4 pages, 1 figure, ICM 2009 conference proceedings (to appear in Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Small-scale systems of galaxies. IV. Searching for the faint galaxy population associated with X-ray detected isolated E+S pairs

In hierarchical evolutionary scenarios, isolated, physical pairs may represent an intermediate phase, or "way station", between collapsing groups and isolated elliptical (E) galaxies (or fossil groups). We started a comprehensive study of a sample of galaxy pairs composed of a giant E and a spiral (S) with the aim of investigating their formation/evolutionary history from observed optical and X-ray properties. Here we present VLT-VIMOS observations designed to identify faint galaxies associated with the E+S systems from candidate lists generated using photometric criteria on WFI images covering an area of ~ 0.2 h^{-1} Mpc radius around the pairs. The results are discussed in the context of the evolution of poor galaxy group associations. A comparison between the Optical Luminosity Functions (OLFs) of our E+S systems and a sample of X-ray bright poor groups suggest that the OLF of X-ray detected poor galaxy systems is not universal. The OLF of our X-ray bright systems suggests that they are more dynamically evolved than our X-ray faint sample and some X-ray bright groups in the literature. However, we suggest that the X-ray faint E+S pairs represent a phase in the dynamical evolution of some X-ray bright poor galaxy groups. The recent or ongoing interaction in which the E member of the X-ray faint pairs is involved could have decreased the luminosity of any surrounding X-ray emitting gas.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

TRAP CROP RADISH: A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR NEMATICIDE IN SUGAR BEETS

Chemical treatment of nematodes in sugar beets can be very costly ($190 per acre), and hazardous, representing significant environmental risks to air, water and human health. Substituting trap crop radish for chemicals, represents a win-win case of sustainable pest control, yielding environmental benefits, higher profit and reduced risk.Crop Production/Industries,

In-plane gate single-electron transistor in Ga[Al]As fabricated by scanning probe lithography

A single-electron transistor has been realized in a Ga[Al]As heterostructure by oxidizing lines in the GaAs cap layer with an atomic force microscope. The oxide lines define the boundaries of the quantum dot, the in-plane gate electrodes, and the contacts of the dot to source and drain. Both the number of electrons in the dot as well as its coupling to the leads can be tuned with an additional, homogeneous top gate electrode. Pronounced Coulomb blockade oscillations are observed as a function of voltages applied to different gates. We find that, for positive top-gate voltages, the lithographic pattern is transferred with high accuracy to the electron gas. Furthermore, the dot shape does not change significantly when in-plane voltages are tuned.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Feeling Exhausted? Tuning Irf4 Energizes Dysfunctional T Cells.

The regulatory mechanisms governing T cell exhaustion remain incompletely understood. Man et al. (2017) and Wu et al. (2017) report that the T cell receptor responsive transcription factor Irf4 promotes T cell exhaustion in chronic viral infection but dampens exhaustion in response to tissue allografts

Not All Tumor-Infiltrating CD8+ T Cells Are Created Equal.

Adoptive cell immunotherapy using in vitro expanded autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes has the potential to mediate durable remission of certain types of cancer. A recent paper in Science shows that complete and durable control of metastatic melanoma requires the infusion of tumor-specific CD8 <sup>+</sup> T cells that have stem-cell-like properties

Outsourcing und Universitäten

Wir wollen hier mit Outsourcing die Ausgründung von Diensten umschreiben, die bisher im eigenen Haus wahrgenommen wurden und zukünftig gegen Entgeld von einem anderen Unternehmen verichtet werden sollen. Wir unterscheiden zwischen einem umfassenden oder vollständigen und einem partiellen oder selektiven Outsourcing

ECONOMICS OF VARIABLE RATE NEMATICIDE FOR SUGAR BEETS

The benefit of applying fumigant for control of the sugar beet nematode on a variable versus uniform rate basis is examined. Compared to fumigating an entire filed at a constant full-label rate, varialbe rate application provides a savings ranging from $31/ac (heavily infested field) to$69/ac (lightly infested field).Crop Production/Industries,