MAIT cells come to the rescue in cancer immunotherapy?

Recent progress in immunobiology has led to the observation that, among cells classically categorized as the typical representatives of the adaptive immune system, i.e., T cells, some possess the phenotype of innate cells. Invariant T cells are characterized by T cell receptors recognizing a limited range of non-peptide antigens, presented only in the context of particular molecules. Mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells) are an example of such unconventional cells. In humans, they constitute between 1% and 8% of the peripheral blood T lymphocytes and are further enriched in mucosal tissues, mesenteric lymph nodes, and liver, where they can account for even 40% of all the T cells. MAIT cells recognize antigens in the context of major histocompatibility complex class I-related protein (MR1). Upon activation, they instantly release pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediate cytolytic function towards bacterially infected cells. As such, they have been a rapidly evolving research topic not only in the field of infectious diseases but also in the context of many chronic inflammatory diseases and, more recently, in immuno-oncology. Novel findings suggest that MAIT cells function could also be modulated by endogenous ligands and drugs, making them an attractive target for therapeutic approaches. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of MAIT cell biology, their role in health and disease and discuss their future potential in cancer immunotherapy. This is discussed through the prism of knowledge and experiences with invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT)—another prominent unconventional T cell subset that shares many features with MAIT cells

Synthetic biology and microdevices : a powerful combination

Recent developments demonstrate that the combination of microbiology with micro-and nanoelectronics is a successful approach to develop new miniaturized sensing devices and other technologies. In the last decade, there has been a shift from the optimization of the abiotic components, for example, the chip, to the improvement of the processing capabilities of cells through genetic engineering. The synthetic biology approach will not only give rise to systems with new functionalities, but will also improve the robustness and speed of their response towards applied signals. To this end, the development of new genetic circuits has to be guided by computational design methods that enable to tune and optimize the circuit response. As the successful design of genetic circuits is highly dependent on the quality and reliability of its composing elements, intense characterization of standard biological parts will be crucial for an efficient rational design process in the development of new genetic circuits. Microengineered devices can thereby offer a new analytical approach for the study of complex biological parts and systems. By summarizing the recent techniques in creating new synthetic circuits and in integrating biology with microdevices, this review aims at emphasizing the power of combining synthetic biology with microfluidics and microelectronics

Spinors in Supersymmetric dS/CFT

We study fermionic bulk fields in the dS/CFT dualities relating ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Euclidean vector models with reversed spin-statistics in three dimensions to supersymmetric Vasiliev theories in four-dimensional de Sitter space. These dualities specify the Hartle - Hawking wave function in terms of the partition function of deformations of the vector models. We evaluate this wave function in homogeneous minisuperspace models consisting of supersymmetry-breaking combinations of a half-integer spin field with either a scalar, a pseudoscalar or a metric squashing. The wave function appears to be well-behaved and globally peaked at or near the supersymmetric de Sitter vacuum, with a low amplitude for large deformations. Its behavior in the semiclassical limit qualitatively agrees with earlier bulk computations both for massless and massive fermionic fields.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures v2: minor modifications, appendix added, version published in JHE

Migration and War Memory in a European Perspective A Case-Study on Displaced Persons in Belgium. Natolin Research Paper 05/2011

In the aftermath of World War II, about 20,000 people who had experienced displacement entered Belgium.1 Among those there were about 350 soldiers serving in the Polish armed forces in the West, and about 4,000 ostarbeiterinnen - young female Soviet citizens who were deported to Nazi Germany to do forced labour. All the soldiers and Soviet women married Belgian citizens, and most settled in the home town or city of their spouses. This paper focuses on the war memories of these migrants in post-war life, memories that were arguably shaped not only by the characteristics of their war experiences themselves, but also by the changing positions which they held within their home and host societies. Following the migrants from their moment of settlement until today, the article highlights the changing dynamics of their war memories over time, starting during the Cold War era and ending up in present day Europe. As such, the study finds itself on the crossroads of memory and migration studies, two academic disciplines that only recently started to dialogue with each other.2 Before analysing the arrival, settlement and war memories of the Displaced Persons at study, I give an interpretation of academic literature on memory of World War II from the perspective of migration studies

Nationalization campaigns and teachers' practices in Belgian–German and Polish–German border regions (1945–1956)

This contribution looks into nationalization and education in European borderlands inthe early post-World War II period. Belonging to Belgium and Poland, respectively, inthe interwar years, the Eupen – St. Vith – Malmedy and the East-Upper Silesia regionscame under German rule during World War II. Returned to the Belgian and Polishnation-states once the war was over, the regions experienced a pronounced upheavalin the population profile as a result of population transfers and reorientations ineducation curricula. The aim of these measures was to guarantee the nationalreliability of borderland inhabitants, with a special role being designated forteachers, who were perceived as crucial in the raising of children as national citizensimbued with certain core values. This contribution compares the methods employedby the authorities in selecting educational personnel for their borderlands, thenationalizing role teachers were to play and the way teachers gave meaning to theirprofessional practices

Child Forced Labour. An Analysis of Ego Documents Thoughout Time

This article centralises a unique collection of ego documents created underCommunism in which Polish former child forced labourers articulate their warexperiences. A comparative analysis of them with recent testimonies reveals that theseego documents offer a more nuanced depiction of Germans and display richerinformation on the specific working conditions and daily routine for children than thecontemporary ones. A comparative reading of the archival testimonies with theirpublished equivalents shows how the streamlining of a publicly acceptable version ofthe past under Communism went both ways, that is, at times foregrounding thepropaganda content of autobiographical wordings, but also at other momentsdownplaying this element. The collection increases our understanding of child forcedlabour experiences during the Second World War, specifically the ways in whichchildren perceived that experience, and offers insights into the negotiated appropriationof Communist ideology at the individual level

Narrating the Time of Troubles in Polish School History Textbooks (1918‑1989)

How were Polish high school children educated about the Time of Troubles (1605‑1618) during the period between the independence of Poland in 1918 and the collapse of communism in 1989 ? In the interwar years, the Sanacja regime aimed to create a group of selected individuals who would work in solidarity alongside their fellow citizens for the good of the state. The figure of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski was established as a role model whose values were to be adopted and whose conduct emulated. By contrast, during Stalinism, the expansionist ideas of the nobility of the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Time of Troubles were portrayed as the deepest betrayal of Slavic interests, the depiction of which became coloured by class struggle and social revolution. From 1956 onwards, narratives of the Time of Troubles gradually moved away from Soviet interpretations and either reverted to interwar interpretations or were indebted to the Annales school of historical thought. This trend lasted until the collapse of communism when new archival research was conducted and the roles of King Sigismund III and Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski in the Time of Troubles were re‑evaluated.Comment la période du Temps des Troubles (1605‑1618) fut‑elle transcrite dans les manuels scolaires polonais entre 1918 et 1989, soit depuis l’indépendance de la Pologne jusqu’à la chute du communisme ? Dans l’entre‑deux‑guerres, le mouvement Sanacja s’efforça de rassembler un groupe d’individus sélectionnés, supposés travailler solidairement avec leurs concitoyens pour le bien de l’État. Le hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski fut alors considéré comme un modèle dont les valeurs devaient être adoptées et la conduite imitée. En revanche, pendant la période stalinienne, les idées expansionnistes de la noblesse de la république des Deux Nations pendant le Temps des Troubles furent dépeintes comme la trahison la plus profonde des intérêts slaves, illustrée par la lutte des classes et la révolution sociale. À compter de 1956, les récits sur le Temps des Troubles s’éloignèrent progressivement des interprétations soviétiques et, soit revinrent à celles de l’entre‑deux‑guerres, soit furent redevables à l’École des Annales de la pensée historique. Cette tendance se maintint jusqu’à la chute du communisme, quand de nouvelles recherches furent menées et que les rôles du roi Sigismond III et de l’hetman du Temps des Troubles Stanisław Żółkiewski furent réévalués

Supersymmetric dS/CFT

We put forward new explicit realisations of dS/CFT that relate ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric Euclidean vector models with reversed spin-statistics in three dimensions to specific supersymmetric Vasiliev theories in four-dimensional de Sitter space. The partition function of the free supersymmetric vector model deformed by a range of low spin deformations that preserve supersymmetry appears to specify a well-defined wave function with asymptotic de Sitter boundary conditions in the bulk. In particular we find the wave function is globally peaked at undeformed de Sitter space, with a low amplitude for strong deformations. This suggests that supersymmetric de Sitter space is stable in higher-spin gravity and in particular free from ghosts. We speculate this is a limiting case of the de Sitter realizations in exotic string theories.Comment: V2: references and comments added, typos corrected, version published in JHEP; 27 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Borderland Studies meets Child Studies

This edited volume provides a comparative analysis of the history of borderland children during the 20th Century. More than their parents, children were envisioned to play a crucial role in bringing about a peaceful Europe. The contributions show the complexity of nationalisation within various spheres of borderland children´s lives and display the dichotomy between nationalist policies and manifest non-national practices of borderland children. Despite the different imaginations of East and West that had influenced peace negotiators after both World Wars, moreover, borderland children in Western and Central Europe invented practices that contributed to the creation of a socially cohesive Europe