Making a Research Infrastructure: Conditions and Strategies to Transform a Service into an Infrastructure

In this article, we investigate the making of research infrastructures. Our aim is to identify the relevant context factors, actor constellations, organizational settings, and strategies for a mere service to become an actual infrastructure. To this end, we conducted 36 case studies of non-commercial and commercial research services. Our research sheds light on the motivations and logics behind infrastructure development and the reasons why not every service succeeds in becoming one. We believe that the results of this study are therefore of practical relevance, especially for persons and organizations that want to create and sustain research infrastructured

Laser Structured Dental Zirconium for Soft Tissue Cell Occupation—Importance of Wettability Modulation

Various approaches are being pursued to physico-chemically modify the zirconia neck region of dental implants to improve the integration into the surrounding soft tissue. In this study, polished zirconia discs were laser microstructured with periodic cavities and convex waves. These zirconia samples were additionally activated by argon plasma using the kINPen®09. The surface topography was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and the surface wettability by water contact angle. The in vitro study with human gingival fibroblasts (HGF-1) was focused on cell spreading, morphology, and actin cytoskeleton organization within the first 24 h. The laser-induced microstructures were originally hydrophobic (e.g., 60 µm cavities 138.4°), but after argon plasma activation, the surfaces switched to the hydrophilic state (60 µm cavities 13.7°). HGF-1 cells adhered flatly on the polished zirconia. Spreading is hampered on cavity structures, and cells avoid the holes. However, cells on laser-induced waves spread well. Interestingly, argon plasma activation for only 1 min promoted adhesion and spreading of HGF-1 cells even after 2 h cultivation. The cells crawl and grow into the depth of the cavities. Thus, a combination of both laser microstructuring and argon plasma activation of zirconia seems to be optimal for a strong gingival cell attachment

Dietary supplementation with gamma-linolenic acid or fish oil decreases lymphocyte proliferation in healthy older humans

Animal and human studies have shown that greatly increasing the amounts of flaxseed oil [rich in the (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA

Dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid, but not with other long-chain n-3 or n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, decreases natural killer cell activity in healthy subjects aged >55 y

Background: Animal studies showed that dietary flaxseed oil [rich in the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid {alpha}-linolenic acid (ALA)], evening primrose oil [rich in the n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid {gamma}-linolenic acid (GLA)], and fish oil [rich in the long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] can decrease natural killer (NK) cell activity. There have been no studies of the effect on NK cell activity of adding these oils to the diet of humans.Objective: Our objective was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with oil blends rich in ALA, GLA, arachidonic acid (AA), DHA, or EPA plus DHA (fish oil) on the NK cell activity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.Design: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel study was conducted. Healthy subjects aged 55–75 y consumed 9 capsules/d for 12 wk; the capsules contained placebo oil (an 80:20 mix of palm and sunflower seed oils) or blends of placebo oil and oils rich in ALA, GLA, AA, DHA, or EPA plus DHA. Subjects in these groups consumed 2 g ALA, 770 mg GLA, 680 mg AA, 720 mg DHA, or 1 g EPA plus DHA (720 mg EPA + 280 mg DHA) daily, respectively. Total fat intake from the capsules was 4 g/d.Results: The fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipids changed significantly in the GLA, AA, DHA, and fish oil groups. NK cell activity was not significantly affected by the placebo, ALA, GLA, AA, or DHA treatment. Fish oil caused a significant reduction (mean decline: 48%) in NK cell activity that was fully reversed by 4 wk after supplementation had ceased.Conclusion: A moderate amount of EPA but not of other n-6 or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can decrease NK cell activity in healthy subjects