Tumour cells can escape antiproliferative pressure by interferon-β through immunoediting of interferon receptor expression.

Type I interferons (IFNs) play a central role not only in innate immunity against viral infection, but also in the antitumour response, e.g. through a direct impact on cell proliferation.

Generation and Validation of Monoclonal Antibodies Suitable for Detecting and Monitoring Parvovirus Infections.

For many applications it is necessary to detect target proteins in living cells. This is particularly the case when monitoring viral infections, in which the presence (or absence) of distinct target polypeptides potentially provides vital information about the pathology caused by the agent. To obtain suitable tools with which to monitor parvoviral infections, we thus generated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in order to detect the major non-structural protein NS1 in the intracellular environment and tested them for sensitivity and specificity, as well as for cross-reactivity towards related species.

What shapes cognitions of climate change in Europe? Ideology, morality, and the role of educational attainment.

Cognitions about climate change are of critical importance for climate change mitigation as they influence climate-relevant behaviors and the support of climate policy. Using about 30,000 observations from a large-scale representative survey from 23 European countries, this study provides two major findings. First, important policy-relevant climate change cognitions do not only differ by individuals' ideological identity (left versus right) but-independently-by their moral identity, that is, the pattern of endorsement of the moral foundations: Care, Fairness, Liberty, Loyalty, Authority, and Purity/Sanctity.

Reg1 and Snf1 regulate stress-induced relocalization of protein phosphatase-1 to cytoplasmic granules.

The compartmentalization of cellular function is achieved largely through the existence of membrane-bound organelles. However, recent work suggests a novel mechanism of compartmentalization mediated by membraneless structures that have liquid droplet-like properties and arise through phase separation. Cytoplasmic stress granules (SGs) are the best characterized and are induced by various stressors including arsenite, heat shock, and glucose deprivation.

Persistent Innate Immune Stimulation Results in IRF3-Mediated but Caspase-Independent Cytostasis.

Persistent virus infection continuously produces non-self nucleic acids that activate cell-intrinsic immune responses. However, the antiviral defense evolved as a transient, acute phase response and the effects of persistently ongoing stimulation onto cellular homeostasis are not well understood. To study the consequences of long-term innate immune activation, we expressed the NS5B polymerase of Hepatitis C virus (HCV), which in absence of viral genomes continuously produces immune-stimulatory RNAs.

Regulation of the unfolded protein response in yeast by oxidative stress.

In the unfolded protein response (UPR), Ire1 activates Hac1 to coordinate the transcription of hundreds of genes to mitigate ER stress. Recent work in Caenorhabditis elegans suggests that oxidative stress inhibits this canonical Ire1 signalling pathway, activating instead an antioxidant stress response. We sought to determine whether this novel mode of UPR function also existed in yeast, where Ire1 has been best characterized.

Phospholipase Lpl1 links lipid droplet function with quality control protein degradation.

Protein misfolding is toxic to cells and is believed to underlie many human diseases, including many neurodegenerative diseases. Accordingly, cells have developed stress responses to deal with misfolded proteins. The transcription factor Rpn4 mediates one such response and is best known for regulating the abundance of the proteasome, the complex multisubunit protease that destroys proteins.

Decrease of asymmetric dimethylarginine predicts acute mountain sickness.

Introduction: Each year, 40 million tourists worldwide are at risk of getting acute mountain sickness (AMS), because they travel to altitudes of over 2500 m. As asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, it should increase pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and raise the risk of acute mountain sickness and high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). With this in mind, we investigated whether changes in ADMA levels (Δ-ADMA) at an altitude of 4000 m can predict an individual's susceptibility to AMS or HAPE.

[Is olfactory function impaired in moderate height?].

Background: The human sense of smell seems to be influenced by the surrounding barometric pressure. These factors appear to be especially important during flights, for example, in order to recognize the smell of fire etc. Thus, questions are whether pilots or passengers exhibit an impaired smell sensitivity when tested at moderate heights, or, whether changes in humidity would affect the sense of smell.

Optical microcavities formed by semiconductor microtubes using a bottlelike geometry.

We report on the realization of optical microtube resonators with a bottlelike geometry. The measured eigenenergies and the measured axial field distributions of the modes can be described by a straight and intuitive model using an adiabatic separation of the circulating and the axial propagation. The dispersion of the axial mode energies follows a photonic quasi-Schrödinger equation including a quasipotential which can be determined for the actual geometry of the microtube in a precise and simple way.

Changes of pressure and humidity affect olfactory function.

The present study aimed at investigating the question whether olfactory function changes in relation to barometric pressure and humidity. Using climate chambers, odor threshold and discrimination for butanol were tested in 75 healthy volunteers under hypobaric and hyperbaric, and different humidity conditions. Among other effects, olfactory sensitivity at threshold level, but not suprathreshold odor discrimination, was impaired in a hypobaric compared to a hyperbaric milieu, and thresholds were lower in humid, compared to relatively dry conditions.

Optical modes in semiconductor microtube ring resonators.

We demonstrate optical modes in InGaAs/GaAs microtubes acting as optical ring resonators. Self-supporting microtubes were fabricated by optical lithography and wet-etching processes utilizing the self-rolling mechanism of strained bilayers. The optical modes were probed by the photoluminescence of InAs quantum dots embedded in the tube's wall.

Change of voice characteristics during +3 Gz acceleration.

Background: This study was performed to test the feasibility of an experimental approach for assessing voice changes during exposure to increased +Gz acceleration. Such changes are probably due to mechanical alterations of the structures involved in voice production. This may be relevant to automatic speech analysis for flight control.

Hypergravity and dehydration-induced shifts of interstitial fluid in the skin monitored by ultrasound.

Introduction: Spaceflight is associated with a shift of interstitial fluid toward the skin of the head and a fluid loss that can decrease superficial tissue thickness (TT). To collect the physiological data needed to develop techniques for monitoring the hydration status of astronauts during spaceflight, we investigated the changes in TT induced by a 12-h nil-by-mouth period and a 30-min period of +2 Gz hypergravity measured at forehead and tibia.

Methods: There were 16 male volunteers who were twice subjected to 30 min of +2 Gz acceleration in a human centrifuge, once following an oral fluid load of 250 ml x h(-1) (procedure A), and once following a nil-by-mouth period of 12 h (procedure B).

Maternal mortality in Bavaria between 1983 and 2000.

Objective: This study was undertaken to identify the main causes of maternal mortality within a developed country to refocus and enhance the delivery of obstetric services.

Study Design: From January 1, 1983, to December 31, 2000, 309 maternal deaths occurring in Bavaria were documented and classified in a prospective observational study. The data sources were the civil registry, confidential reports by members of the Bavarian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and public information.

[Spontaneous rupture of the urinary bladder after radiotherapy].

The spontaneous intraperitoneal rupture of the urinary bladder is an extremely rare life threatening event. There are often difficulties in making the diagnosis. A case of spontaneous rupture of the bladder 6 years after radiation therapy for uterus cancer is reported.

A 100-element ultrasonic circular array for endoscopic application in medicine and NDT.

In this paper we focus on a new developed ultrasonic circular array for endoscopic application in medicine and NDT. The new device consists of 100 strip elements. The diameter of this array is just 10 mm.