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Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), is a globally prevalent pathogen with significant animal welfare, economic and public health impacts. In the UK, the control of bTB relies on detection via tuberculin skin tests with ancillary interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release assays, followed by culling infected animals. Vaccination with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) could be an important element of bTB control, and a number of studies have demonstrated its protective efficacy, particularly when young calves are vaccinated. Here, we compared immune responses and the protective efficacy of BCG in calves vaccinated within the first day of life and at three weeks of age. Significant protection from M. bovis infection was observed in BCG-vaccinated calves compared to non-vaccinated, age-matched controls. No significant differences were shown between calves vaccinated at one day and at three weeks of age when assessing the protective efficacy of BCG (measured as a reduction in lesions and bacterial burden). Antigen-specific IFN-γ levels were similar between the BCG-vaccinated groups, but significantly different from the non-vaccinated control animals. Antigen-specific IFN-γ expression post-BCG vaccination was correlated significantly with protection from M. bovis infection, whereas IFN-γ levels post-challenge correlated with pathology and bacterial burden. These results indicate that early-life vaccination with BCG could have a significant impact on M. bovis infection and, therefore, bTB incidence, and they demonstrate that age, at least within the first month of life, does not significantly impact the protective effect of vaccination.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-whe-10.1177_17455065221074882 for ���The spiral just keeps on going���: Cascading health and social issues for women living and aging with HIV by Lisa-Maree Herron, Allyson Mutch, Melania Mugamu, Chris Howard and Lisa Fitzgerald in Women���s Health

The global Higher Education sector (HE) is undergoing a metamorphosis. No longer is HE the sole preserve of the privileged few but rather it is now accessible for the masses. The result of such an expansionist philosophy is here and today’s undergraduate students can expect to study at a university that is unrecognisable to higher education establishments of a few decades ago. This is not a one-sided affair and academic staff i.e.,the professoriate who encounter the results of such expansionism on a daily basis are also faced with a vastly complex working environment(see e.g., Knight & Senior, 2017).Phrases such as internationalisation, employability, work-based learning as well as the almost ephemeral notion of student satisfaction,among many other things,regular assail the collective consciousness of academic staff around the world. Yet despite such complexity a new model is emerging and this is one firmly embedded within consumer psychology and it firmly places the student as a customer. Here we highlight some negative issues that may arise when HE embraces consumerism. We also discuss a potential solution that may not only ameliorate these issues but actually facilitate excellence in the student learning journeys.Higher education can meet this vast array of modern day concepts face-to-face and still ensure that it serves its core mission and that is to provide students with a higher understanding of various conceptual issues.

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The role that student friendship groups play in learning was investigated here. Employing a critical realist design, two focus groups on undergraduates were conducted to explore their experience of studying. Data from the "case-by-case" analysis suggested student-to-student friendships produced social contexts which facilitated conceptual understanding through discussion, explanation, and application to "real life" contemporary issues. However, the students did not conceive this as a learning experience or suggest the function of their friendships involved learning. These data therefore challenge the perspective that student groups in higher education are formed and regulated for the primary function of learning. Given these findings, further research is needed to assess the role student friendships play in developing disciplinary conceptual understanding.

Using the Huddersfield University Product Design’s unique problem solving analysis system, the research, concept design and development enabled the team to create a unique Cap design solution for scalp cooling a proven method for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in preventing the trauma of hair loss. This resulted in significant improvements to the cap using anthropometric data, 3D head scanning and 3D modeling for a novel system for cap production. Working closely with a major silicon manufacturer a new manufacturing system for the production of the world’s first disposable scalp cooling cap was developed completed. The system reduce cap production cost and allows mass quantity product for a global marketplace. The new design also offers better user experience through improved comfort and fit and heat conductivity. The project covers prototype manufacture using 3D laser sintering technology. The product shall be protected by world patent cover and is subject to Non-Disclosure agreements.

In humans and ruminants infected with Anaplasma, the major surface protein 2 (MSP2) is immunodominant. Numerous CD4(+) T cell epitopes in the hypervariable and conserved regions of MSP2 contribute to this immunodominance. Antigenic variation in MSP2 occurs throughout acute and persistent infection, and sequentially emerging variants are thought to be controlled by variant-specific Ab. This study tested the hypothesis that challenge of cattle with Anaplasma marginale expressing MSP2 variants to which the animals had been immunized, would stimulate variant epitope-specific recall CD4(+) T cell and IgG responses and organism clearance. MSP2-specific T lymphocyte responses, determined by IFN-gamma ELISPOT and proliferation assays, were strong before and for 3 wk postchallenge. Surprisingly, these responses became undetectable by the peak of rickettsemia, composed predominantly of organisms expressing the same MSP2 variants used for immunization. Immune responsiveness remained insignificant during subsequent persistent A. marginale infection up to 1 year. The suppressed response was specific for A. marginale, as responses to Clostridium vaccine Ag were consistently observed. CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells and cytokines IL-10 and TGF-beta1 did not increase after challenge. Furthermore, a suppressive effect of nonresponding cells was not observed. Lymphocyte proliferation and viability were lost in vitro in the presence of physiologically relevant numbers of A. marginale organisms. These results suggest that loss of memory T cell responses following A. marginale infection is due to a mechanism other than induction of T regulatory cells, such as peripheral deletion of MSP2-specific T cells.

Organisms in the genus Anaplasma express an immunodominant major surface protein 2 (MSP2), composed of a central hypervariable region (HVR) flanked by highly conserved regions. Throughout Anaplasma marginale infection, recombination results in the sequential appearance of novel MSP2 variants and subsequent control of rickettsemia by the immune response, leading to persistent infection. To determine whether immune evasion and selection for variant organisms is associated with a predominant response against HVR epitopes, T-cell and linear B-cell epitopes were localized by measuring peripheral blood gamma interferon-secreting cells, proliferation, and antibody binding to 27 overlapping peptides spanning MSP2 in 16 cattle. Similar numbers of MSP2-specific CD4(+) T-cell epitopes eliciting responses of similar magnitude were found in conserved and hypervariable regions. T-cell epitope clusters recognized by the majority of animals were identified in the HVR (amino acids [aa] 171 to 229) and conserved regions (aa 101 to 170 and 272 to 361). In contrast, linear B-cell epitopes were concentrated in the HVR, residing within hydrophilic sequences. The pattern of recognition of epitope clusters by T cells and of HVR epitopes by B cells is consistent with the influence of protein structure on epitope recognition.