Weshalb hemmen Würmer Allergien? Parasiten als Immunologen

Parasitic worms survive within their immunocompetent hosts by modulating their immune system and by inhibiting inflammatory responses directed against the parasites. This immunomodulation has a spill over effect and also inhibits inflammatory responses originating from other causes. For this reason, persons who are infected with certain species of worms show a lower rate of allergic diseases as compared to persons who are free of parasites. In the same line, studies in mouse models revealed that many inflammatory diseases can be treated by worm infections. This effect is among others owing to specific proteins that are released by the worms. Such secreted immunomodulators, shaped by co‐evolution between parasites and their hosts, could become lead compounds for the development of new therapies against allergic and inflammatory diseases.     

Foraging Rules for Group Feeders: Area Copying Depends upon Food Density in Shoaling Goldfish

The decision rules governing forage area copying behaviour were investigated in shoaling fish. Shoaling goldfish were offered two equal food patches, one of which was adjacent to an equal-sized shoal feeding behind a transparent barrier. When food was low, goldfish foraged according to an area copying rule, but under high and zero food area copying disappeared. Only under high food density did equal numbers of fish feed at both sites as predicted by foraging theory. Under zero food the fish were less certain about where to forage. Precise visual cues from feeding fish were required: non-feeders did not attract area copiers. Furthermore, area copying was task-dependent since it reappeared strongly if fish were not able to forage on patches like their fellows. Control experiments eliminated an increase in group size for anti-predator advantage as an explanation. Two sequential decisions: to stay or move, and to join or leave may explain the results, which are not accommodated by simple optimality models. These decisions may be based on a comparison of current food intake with the anticipation of a higher reward by foraging socially.     

The Impact of Contact Tracing in Clustered Populations

The tracing of potentially infectious contacts has become an important part of the control strategy for many infectious diseases, from early cases of novel infections to endemic sexually transmitted infections. Here, we make use of mathematical models to consider the case of partner notification for sexually transmitted infection, however these models are sufficiently simple to allow more general conclusions to be drawn. We show that, when contact network structure is considered in addition to contact tracing, standard “mass action” models are generally inadequate. To consider the impact of mutual contacts (specifically clustering) we develop an improvement to existing pairwise network models, which we use to demonstrate that ceteris paribus, clustering improves the efficacy of contact tracing for a large region of parameter space. This result is sometimes reversed, however, for the case of highly effective contact tracing. We also develop stochastic simulations for comparison, using simple re-wiring methods that allow the generation of appropriate comparator networks. In this way we contribute to the general theory of network-based interventions against infectious disease.     

Zahnanomalien in der Neuropädiatrie

Dental anomalies in children with neuropediatric disorders are easy to diagnose and can be essential in the diagnosis of different entities. They are present in well-known disorders as Incontinentia pigmenti, but also in rare diseases as in Kohlschütter-Tönz syndrome or the recently described ataxia, delayed dentition and hypomyelination. Anomalies of dental shape, enamel and in this case also teeth color, dental number and eruption are all encountered. Knowledge of these abnormalities is important for both clinical geneticist and child neurologist.     

Genetik der koronaren Herzkrankheit und des Herzinfarkts

Because of their high prevalence, cases of coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI) are frequently found when asking for a patient’s family history. It is common knowledge that a positive familial history constitutes a risk factor for CAD in its own right, in addition to smoking, increased alcohol intake, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Nevertheless, for correct risk assessment it is crucial to accurately distinguish between sporadic and true familial cases of CAD and MI. Familial disposition is present when at least one male first-grade relative under the age of 55 or one female first-grade relative under the age of 65 has/had been diagnosed with myocardial infarction or significant coronary artery disease. In the review presented here, we compile the relevant epidemiological and genetic studies that constitute the scientific basis of this risk assessment. Furthermore, a short overview of the state of the art of genetic CAD/MI research is given.     

The Contribution of Agriculture,Forestry and other Land Use activities to Global Warming, 1990–2012

We refine the information available through the IPCC AR5 with regard to recent trends in global GHG emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land uses (AFOLU), including global emission updates to 2012. Using all three available AFOLU datasets employed for analysis in the IPCC AR5, rather than just one as done in the IPCC AR5 WGIII Summary for Policy Makers, our analyses point to a down‐revision of global AFOLU shares of total anthropogenic emissions, while providing important additional information on subsectoral trends. Our findings confirm that the share of AFOLU emissions to the anthropogenic total declined over time. They indicate a decadal average of 28.7 ± 1.5% in the 1990s and 23.6 ± 2.1% in the 2000s and an annual value of 21.2 ± 1.5% in 2010. The IPCC AR5 had indicated a 24% share in 2010. In contrast to previous decades, when emissions from land use (land use, land use change and forestry, including deforestation) were significantly larger than those from agriculture (crop and livestock production), in 2010 agriculture was the larger component, contributing 11.2 ± 0.4% of total GHG emissions, compared to 10.0 ± 1.2% of the land use sector. Deforestation was responsible for only 8% of total anthropogenic emissions in 2010, compared to 12% in the 1990s. Since 2010, the last year assessed by the IPCC AR5, new FAO estimates indicate that land use emissions have remained stable, at about 4.8 Gt CO₂ eq yr^?1 in 2012. Emissions minus removals have also remained stable, at 3.2 Gt CO₂ eq yr^?1 in 2012. By contrast, agriculture emissions have continued to grow, at roughly 1% annually, and remained larger than the land use sector, reaching 5.4 Gt CO₂ eq yr^?1 in 2012. These results are useful to further inform the current climate policy debate on land use, suggesting that more efforts and resources should be directed to further explore options for mitigation in agriculture, much in line with the large efforts devoted to REDD+ in the past decade.