Causes of the recent rise of worldwide military expenditures

Obwohl der Kalte Krieg seit 20 Jahren vorbei ist und es keine offenen Feindschaften zwischen den Großmächten gibt, steigen die weltweiten Militärausgaben konstant an und haben den Höchststand während des Kalten Krieges 1987/88 bereits üubertroffen. Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit versucht die Ursachen dieser alarmierenden Entwicklung zu identifizieren. Zu diesem Zweck diskutiere ich Theorien für die Nachfrage nach Rüstungsausgaben im Lauf der Geschichte, untersuche die wechselnde strategische Umgebung während und nach dem Kalten Krieg und führe eine empirische Analyse mit Paneldaten der 40 größten Militärmächte durch. Die Hauptergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass es mehrere Faktoren gibt, die zu steigenden Militäretats fähren. Darunter fallen die Verbreitung von Konflikten und allgemein politisch motivierter Gewalt seit 2001 wie die Interventionen in Afghanistan und im Irak, der Charakter dieser Konflikte als asymmetrische Kriege und der wirtschaftliche Aufstieg vieler ehemals armer Länder.Although the Cold War has ended about 20 years ago and there are no open hostilities between the great powers, worldwide military expen ditures are constantly rising and have surpassed the peak values of Cold War military spending in 1987/88. This diploma thesis aims to identify the causes of this alarming development. To this end, I review theories on demand for military expenditure throughout history, examine the changing strategic environment during and after the Cold War and perform an empirical analysis with panel data on the 40 largest military powers. The main findings suggest that there are several contributing factors to increasing military budgets. Among them are the proliferation of conflicts and overall politically motivated violence since 2001, such as the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, these conflicts’ character as asymmetric warfare, and the economic ascension of many formerly poor countries

Intercellular Communication by Exchange of Cytoplasmic Material via Tunneling Nano-Tube Like Structures in Primary Human Renal Epithelial Cells

Transfer of cellular material via tunneling nanotubes (TNT) was recently discovered as a novel mechanism for intercellular communication. The role of intercellular exchange in communication of renal epithelium is not known. Here we report extensive spontaneous intercellular exchange of cargo vesicles and organelles between primary human proximal tubular epithelial cells (RPTEC). Cells were labeled with two different quantum dot nanocrystals (Qtracker 605 or 525) and intercellular exchange was quantified by high-throughput fluorescence imaging and FACS analysis. In co-culture, a substantial fraction of cells (67.5%) contained both dyes indicating high levels of spontaneous intercellular exchange in RPTEC. The double positive cells could be divided into three categories based on the preponderance of 605 Qtracker (46.30%), 525 Qtracker (48.3%) and approximately equal content of both Qtrackers (4.57%). The transfer of mitochondria between RPTECs was also detected using an organelle specific dye. Inhibition of TNT genesis by actin polymerization inhibitor (Latrunculin B) markedly reduced intercellular exchange (>60%) suggesting that intercellular exchange in RPTEC was in part mediated via TNT-like structures. In contrast, induction of cellular stress by Zeocin treatment increased tube-genesis in RPTEC. Our data indicates an unexpected dynamic of intercellular communication between RPTEC by exchange of cytosolic material, which may play an important role in renal physiology

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Nya perspektiv på sponsring - en fallstudie av tre företags sponsringsverksamhet.

Sponsring har under de senaste decennierna blivit allt vanligare i marknadsföringsstrategin. Trots det ökade kommersiella intresset av sponsring är antalet vetenskapliga forskningsrapporter och vetenskapliga artiklar inom ämnet relativt litet samtidigt som sponsringen är försummad i de flesta marknadsföringsböcker. Sponsringen verkar även ha fastnat i det traditionella transaktionssynsättet, med en fokus på sponsringen som ett verktyg för masskommunikation. Flera författare menar därför att relationsmarknadsföring kan användas till att bredda synen på sponsring, vilket skulle kunna innebära att nya användningsområden för sponsring upptäcks. Syftet med denna uppsats är tvåfaldigt. Det första är att, med utgångspunkt i tre företag, undersöka hur sponsring används idag. Den andra delen av syftet är att undersöka om, och i så fall hur, sponsring kan användas för att förbättra företagens relationer till olika intressenter. För att samla empirisk data har fyra personliga intervjuer genomförts med personer med kunskap om sponsring på AstraZeneca, Malmö Aviation och Sydkraft. Resultaten från denna uppsats visar att sponsring bedrivs i relativt stor utsträckning. Fallföretagen använder sig samtidigt av olika former av sponsring och uppföljning av sponsringssatsningarna förekommer inte i någon större utsträckning. Vi har funnit att fallföretagen delvis använder sig av tre traditionella huvudmål med sponsring, nämligen kommunikation, exponering och association. Vi har även funnit att de undersökta företagen i viss mån använder sig av sponsring i syfte att skapa relationer. Genom sponsring kan företag ingå i olika nätverk som till exempel sponsringsklubbar innebär informella kontakter som senare kan utnyttjas i kommersiellt syfte. Sponsring kan även användas för att stärka och motivera den egna personalen. Vi menar att företagen i framtiden i större omfattning än idag bör använda sig av sponsring för att förbättra sina relationer till olika intressenter