Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung

Die Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung (ZfO) ist ein international angesehenes Forum für die Veröffentlichung neuester Ergebnisse zur Geschichte und zur Kultur der historischen Länder und Regionen, die sich in den Grenzen der heutigen Staaten Polen, Tschechien, Slowakei, Litauen, Lettland und Estland sowie in Teilgebieten der heutigen Staaten Belarus, Russland (Exklave Kaliningrad), Ukraine und Ungarn befinden. 1952-1994 erschien sie als Zeitschrift für Ostforschung.

Experimentelle Bildungsforschung. Beiträge experimenteller Forschung zur Bildungssoziologie und -ökonomie

Der Beitrag liefert eine (kritische) Übersicht über die experimentelle Bildungsforschung mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Bildungssoziologie und -ökonomie. Zunächst werden Gründe für die Verwendung von Experimenten in der Bildungsforschung und ihre vergleichsweise seltene Anwendung in der Forschungspraxis angeführt. Anschließend werden die aus unserer Sicht interessantesten und bedeutsamsten Studien und Projekte diskutiert, wobei zwischen randomisierten und nichtrandomisierten Experimenten unterschieden wird. Davon ausgehend werden theoretische, methodische, politische und ethische Probleme experimenteller Bildungsforschung aufgezeigt. Der Beitrag schließt mit einer kritischen Würdigung des Forschungsstandes und der Anwendung von Experimenten für den Erkenntnisgewinn in der Bildungssoziologie und -ökonomie.

Cellular responses after exposure of lung cell cultures to secondary organic aerosol particles

The scope of this work was to examine in vitro responses of lung cells to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles, under realistic ambient air and physiological conditions occurring when particles are inhaled by mammals, using a novel particle deposition chamber. The cell cultures included cell types that are representative for the inner surface of airways and alveoli and are the target cells for inhaled particles. The results demonstrate that an exposure to SOA at ambient-air concentrations of about 10(4) particles/cm(3) for 2 h leads to only moderate cellular responses. There is evidence for (i) cell type specific effects and for (ii) different effects of SOA originating from anthropogenic and biogenic precursors, i.e. 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) and alpha-pinene, respectively. There was no indication for cytotoxic effects but for subtle changes in cellular functions that are essential for lung homeostasis. Decreased phagocytic activity was found in human macrophages exposed to SOA from alpha-pinene. Alveolar epithelial wound repair was affected by TMB-SOA exposure, mainly because of altered cell spreading and migration at the edge of the wound. In addition, cellular responses were found to correlate with particle number concentration, as interleukin-8 production was increased in pig explants exposed to TMB-SOA with high particle numbers.

An in vitro triple cell co-culture model with primary cells mimicking the human alveolar epithelial barrier

A triple cell co-culture model was recently established by the authors, consisting of either A549 or 16HBE14o- epithelial cells, human blood monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells, which offers the possibility to study the interaction of xenobiotics with those cells. The 16HBE14o- containing co-culture model mimics the airway epithelial barrier, whereas the A549 co-cultures mimic the alveolar type II-like epithelial barrier. The goal of the present work was to establish a new triple cell co-culture model composed of primary alveolar type I-like cells isolated from human lung biopsies (hAEpC) representing a more realistic alveolar epithelial barrier wall, since type I epithelial cells cover >93% of the alveolar surface. Monocultures of A549 and 16HBE14o- were morphologically and functionally compared with the hAEpC using laser scanning microscopy, as well as transmission electron microscopy, and by determining the epithelial integrity. The triple cell co-cultures were characterized using the same methods. It could be shown that the epithelial integrity of hAEpC (mean ± SD, 1180 ± 188 Ω cm(2)) was higher than in A549 (172 ± 59 Ω cm(2)) but similar to 16HBE14o- cells (1469 ± 156 Ω cm(2)). The triple cell co-culture model with hAEpC (1113 ± 30 Ω cm(2)) showed the highest integrity compared to the ones with A549 (93 ± 14 Ω cm(2)) and 16HBE14o- (558 ± 267 Ω cm(2)). The tight junction protein zonula occludens-1 in hAEpC and 16HBE14o- were more regularly expressed but not in A549. The epithelial alveolar model with hAEpC combined with two immune cells (i.e. macrophages and dendritic cells) will offer a novel and more realistic cell co-culture system to study possible cell interactions of inhaled xenobiotics and their toxic potential on the human alveolar type I epithelial wall.