4,869 research outputs found
Remembering Professor Jim Shields [podcast episode]
No full textAston University’s podcast, Bright Past, Brilliant Future, has commemorated the life and legacy of Professor Jim Shields (1957-2023), a former University academic and distinguished scholar who held a chair in French politics and modern history.
The special episode marks the second anniversary of Professor Shields’ passing and brings together colleagues, former students and friends, now academics themselves, to reflect on his remarkable career and lasting impact.
Jim was known for his outstanding contributions to scholarship, his exceptional teaching and his commitment to mentoring students. He was both Aston University’s last professor of French and its first professor of history, a distinction that underscores his influence in shaping the University’s academic landscape.
The podcast, hosted by Dr Brian Sudlow, features conversations with esteemed academics who worked alongside Professor Shields, including Professor Pamela Moores (professor emerita of modern languages at Aston University) and Professor Alistair Cole (Institut de sciences politiques, Lyon), a long-time collaborator. Also joining the discussion are former students who share their personal experiences of Jim’s mentorship, demanding academic expectations and his charismatic teaching style.
he episode also touches on Jim’s passion for teaching, which earned him a Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence in 2007, and his deep engagement with students, inspiring many to pursue careers in academia and beyond. Former students, including Dr Craig Blunt (University of Birmingham) and Professor Stephen Forcer (University of Glasgow), and longtime colleague Professor Jeremy Ahearne (University of Warwick) recall his dedication to shaping young minds, his rigorous academic standards and his infectious enthusiasm for his subject
Public Perceptions of Genetically Modified Foods: Americans Know Not What They Eat
No full textBiotechnology stands to be a defining technology in the future of food and agriculture. Proponents argue that science and industry are poised to bring consumers a wide variety of products that have potential for meeting basic food needs, as well as delivering a wide-range of health, environmental and economic benefits. Opponents counter that the potential exists for unintended consequences, ranging from ecological disruption to adverse human health implications, and that these risks are not fully understood. Fundamental questions exist, however, regarding the general public’s position on food products derived with the use of biotechnology. To address these questions, the Food Policy Institute addressed consumers using computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) system, a public phone survey of a sample selection of 1203 U.S. residents was administered between March and April 2001. The questionnaire was developed to address perceived gaps in the current literature on American consumer awareness, acceptance, and perceptions of food biotechnology and to serve as the basis for a set of longitudinal studies that will be able to track public opinion over time.Food Policy Institute Publication Number RR-0302-001
Heterogeneous and tissue-specific regulation of effector T cell responses by IFN-gamma during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection.
No full textIFN-γ and T cells are both required for the development of experimental cerebral malaria during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Surprisingly, however, the role of IFN-γ in shaping the effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell response during this infection has not been examined in detail. To address this, we have compared the effector T cell responses in wild-type and IFN-γ(-/-) mice during P. berghei ANKA infection. The expansion of splenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during P. berghei ANKA infection was unaffected by the absence of IFN-γ, but the contraction phase of the T cell response was significantly attenuated. Splenic T cell activation and effector function were essentially normal in IFN-γ(-/-) mice; however, the migration to, and accumulation of, effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the lung, liver, and brain was altered in IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Interestingly, activation and accumulation of T cells in various nonlymphoid organs was differently affected by lack of IFN-γ, suggesting that IFN-γ influences T cell effector function to varying levels in different anatomical locations. Importantly, control of splenic T cell numbers during P. berghei ANKA infection depended on active IFN-γ-dependent environmental signals--leading to T cell apoptosis--rather than upon intrinsic alterations in T cell programming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to fully investigate the role of IFN-γ in modulating T cell function during P. berghei ANKA infection and reveals that IFN-γ is required for efficient contraction of the pool of activated T cells
Dissecting the Neonatal CD4+ T cell Response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis
No full text152 pagesNeonates are highly susceptible to morbidity and mortality from infectious disease. Neonates are particularly vulnerable to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, and develop a more fatal form of Tuberculosis (TB). CD4+ T cells are essential to the adaptive immune response to Mtb, and have been long thought to be impaired in early life at responding to infection. Therefore, neonatal CD4+ T cells may contribute to the more severe TB disease phenotype seen in neonates, and understanding the behavior of neonatal CD4+ T cells is key to preventing disease in this vulnerable population. While previous work has indicated that neonatal CD4+ T cells preferentially adopt a Th2 and T regulatory (Treg) fate, an unknown has been how neonatal CD4+ T cells are capable of responding to a variety of inflammatory conditions, and whether these properties are retained into adulthood by the neonatal layer of CD4+ T cells. We exposed neonatal CD4+ T cells to multiple T helper conditions in vitro, and found that while under neutral conditions they do retain a Th2 skew, they are equally as capable of responding to all tested conditions as adult CD4+ T cells. Next, we investigated whether the upregulation of the RNA binding protein, Lin28b, early in life in CD4+ T cells underlies the phenotype of neonatal CD4+ T cells, finding that Lin28b overexpression in adult CD4+ T cells does cause a Th2 skew. Finally, we examined whether these unique characteristics of neonatal CD4+ T cells are retained into adulthood using a fate mapping mouse model. Our studies indicated that neonatal CD4+ T cells do persist into adulthood and preferentially adopt a Treg fate. Using an alternate method, by thymectomizing young mice, we confirmed that adult mice with only a neonatal layer of CD4+ T cells also have increased percentages of Treg cells. Finally, in this thesis, we examined the role of neonatal CD4+ T cells in responding to Mtb. Our studies, utilizing an adoptive transfer experiment in which neonatal and adult CD4+ T cells specific to an Mtb antigen were transferred into adult mice, indicated that neonatal CD4+ T cells can sufficiently respond to Mtb during early infection. However, during chronic Mtb infection, neonatal CD4+ T cells become terminally differentiated and fail to localize properly to the site of infection in the lung parenchyma. Additionally, we found that when the neonatal layer of CD4+ T cells are depleted prior to infection, there is an earlier CD4+ T cell response and a modest decrease in Mtb burden late in infection. Finally, we developed a neonatal Mtb infection model, which indicated that the inflammatory response is histologically less organized and effective in containing Mtb in chronic infection. Collectively, this thesis highlights the various roles of neonatal CD4+ T cells through adulthood, and indicates that the developmental origin of CD4+ T cells may play a role in the response to Mtb
sj-pdf-1-jcb-10.1177_0271678X231173587 - Supplemental material for Differential association of cerebral blood flow and anisocytosis in APOE ε4 carriers at midlife
No full textSupplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jcb-10.1177_0271678X231173587 for Differential association of cerebral blood flow and anisocytosis in APOE ε4 carriers at midlife by Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Elijah Mak, Peter Swann, Audrey Low, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Anna McKeever, Marianna Pope, Guy B Williams, Katie Wells, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Paresh Malhotra, Clare Mackay, Ivan Koychev, Karen Ritchie, Li Su, Craig W Ritchie and John T O’Brien: on behalf of the SVDs@target consortium in Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism</p
Review of \u3ci\u3eI\u27ll Be Here in the Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt\u3c/i\u3e by Brian T. Atkinson
No full textTexas\u27s Townes Van Zandtwas a musician\u27s musician whose fame grew after his 1996 death. Brian T. Atkinson, contributor to the Austin AmericanStatesman, Texas Music, Lone Star, American Songwriter, and No Depression, has woven together a collection of interviews from Van Zandt\u27s contemporaries and friends, as well as his musical heirs-singer-songwriters who grew up too late to have known the troubled author of Pancho and Lefty, Tecumseh Valley, and Lungs but who admired his dark, poetic lyrics
Creighton University Window Spring 1991
No full textTHE PLATTE: A TREASURE AT RISK / THE FLAT PLATTE: AN IMPERILED TREASURE OF NEBRASKA, PLAINS
Dr. John Schalles, Creighton biologist, and Don Doll, S.J., photographer, take you on a tour of the Platte River system, a three-state treasure of which everyone wants a piece. Page 4.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK / TRY A NIGHT OUT... ON THE LAWN ... WITH SHAKESPEARE
Brian Kokensparger and photographers Don Doll, S.J., Tim Fitzgerald of University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Kent Sievers show you how Shakespeare is done on a midsummer's night as you'll like it. Page 14.
SHE SWINGS FOR THE FENCES / COACH HIGGINS SWINGS FOR THE FENCES FOR CREIGHTON, FAMILY
Mary Higgins has brought the Lady Jay softball team to national prominence. For her, family or Creighton are the same — she goes for the home run all the time. Read about this enthusiastic top Lady Jay. Page 18.
THE BLACKROBE IN LITERATURE / THE JESUITS IN LITERATURE: SALVOS FROM WRITERS' PENS
Author Bob Reilly researches the references to Jesuits in literature that trace back to their beginnings. Sometimes it's not flattering, but it's always intriguing. Page 21.3
Publisher Correction: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway (Nature Microbiology, (2022), 7, 8, (1161-1179), 10.1038/s41564-022-01143-7)
No full text\ua9 The Author(s) 2022.In the version of this article initially published, the author affiliation information was incomplete, neglecting to note that Brian J. Willett, Joe Grove, Oscar A. MacLean, Craig Wilkie, Giuditta De Lorenzo, Wilhelm Furnon, Diego Cantoni, Sam Scott, Nicola Logan and Shirin Ashraf contributed equally and that John Haughney, David L. Robertson, Massimo Palmarini, Surajit Ray and Emma C. Thomson jointly supervised the work, as now indicated in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
Developing a partnership of indigenous peoples, conservationists, and land use planners in Latin America
No full textIllustrating from a rich body of case material, Poole's report reflects a shift away from the traditional view - represented by certain national parks and similar protected areas - that indigenous peoples be allowed to occupy and use an area's resources following rules set by conservationists. Under the new paradigm that is developing, indigenous peoples are seen as an integral part of protected area planning through agreements worked out in partnership with conservation authorities. An example of this new approach is the role that indigenous peoples are playing in the design of biosphere reserves. Poole suggests that the Bank and other development organizations pay more attention to vernacular economies - economies based on local resources, used either for subsistence or as a source of revenue. He also recommends more research into economics and resource implications of these local activities to harvest wild resources, especially in environmentally delicate areas such as tropical rainforests.Environmental Management,Tourism and Ecotourism,Water Conservation,Natural Resources Management,Wetlands
Programmed Death-1 Culls Peripheral Accumulation of High-Affinity Autoreactive CD4 T Cells to Protect against Autoimmunity
No full textSummarySelf-reactive CD4 T cells are incompletely deleted during thymic development, and their peripheral seeding highlights the need for additional safeguards to avert autoimmunity. Here, we show an essential role for the coinhibitory molecule programmed death-1 (PD-1) in silencing the activation of high-affinity autoreactive CD4 T cells. Each wave of self-reactive CD4 T cells that escapes thymic deletion autonomously upregulates PD-1 to maintain self-tolerance. By tracking the progeny derived from individual autoreactive CD4 T cell clones, we demonstrate that self-reactive cells with the greatest autoimmune threat and highest self-antigen affinity express the most PD-1. Reciprocally, PD-1 deprivation unleashes high-affinity self-reactive CD4 T cells in target tissues to exacerbate neuronal inflammation and autoimmune diabetes. Reliance on PD-1 to actively maintain self-tolerance may explain why exploiting this pathway by cancerous cells and invasive microbes efficiently subverts protective immunity, and why autoimmune side effects can develop after PD-1-neutralizing checkpoint therapies
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