Endothelial Cell Contributions to COVID-19

Understanding of the clinical, histological and molecular features of the novel coronavirus 2019 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) has remained elusive. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by this virus has unusual clinical presentation with regard to other related coronaviruses. Recent reports suggest that SARS-CoV-2, unlike other related viruses, infects and replicates within endothelial cells, which may explain a significant portion of the observed clinical pathology. Likewise, mounting evidence associates vascular and endothelial cell dysfunction with increased mortality. This review focuses on understanding how endothelial cell pathology is caused by SARS-CoV-2 at the molecular and cellular levels and how these events relate to COVID-19. A detailed examination of current knowledge regarding canonical inflammatory reaction pathways as well as alteration of endothelial cell-derived exosomes and transdifferentiation by SARS-CoV-2 is included in this assessment. Additionally, given an understanding of endothelial contributions to COVID-19, potential therapeutic aims are discussed, particularly as would affect endothelial function and pathology

Stable 6H organic-inorganic hybrid lead perovskite and competitive formation of 6H and 3C perovskite structure with mixed A cations

We thank the Chinese Scholarship Council for Ph.D. Studentship support (to JT). Computational resources have been provided by the Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif (CÉCI), funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under grant no. 2.5020.11. D.B. is an FNRS Research Director.We report the synthesis and properties of a new organic–inorganic hybrid lead perovskite (OIHP), azetidinium lead bromide (AzPbBr3), possessing the 6H perovskite structure (space group P63/mmc with a = 8.745 Å and c = 21.329 Å). This compound has a band gap of 2.81 eV and remains stable for >6 months in the ambient environment. DFT simulations are in fairly good agreement with experiments and indicate that AzPbBr3 is a direct band gap semiconductor. A partial solid solution with the cubic (3C) perovskite methylammonium lead bromide (Az1–xMAxPbBr3) is possible. In Az-rich 6H compositions the lattice volume and band gap are invariant with x (≤0.3), whereas in the MA-rich 3C phase (0.8 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) the lattice parameters and band gap increase with increasing Az content. Although the relatively large band gap of AzPbBr3 makes it unsuitable for photovoltaic applications, the results indicate Az+ is a suitable alternative organic A cation for band gap tuning of OHIPs.PostprintPeer reviewe

Enhanced photoluminescence and reduced dimensionality via vacancy ordering in a 10H halide perovskite

H.L. would like to thank the University of St. Andrews for financial support via a St. Leonard’s scholarship. The authors acknowledge facilities access made possible through support from the EPSRC Light Element Analysis facility Grant EP/T019298/1 and the EPSRC Strategic Equipment Resource Grant EP/R023751/1.Vacancy-ordered halide perovskites have received great interest in optoelectronic applications. In this work, we report the novel inorganic halide Cs10MnSb6Cl30 with a distinctive 10H (10-layer hexagonal) perovskite polytype structure with (hcccc)2 stacking. Cs10MnSb6Cl30 has 30% B-site vacancies ordered at both corner- and face-sharing sites, resulting in [MnSb6Cl30]10–n columns, i.e., a reduction of octahedral connectivity to 1D. This results in enhanced photoluminescence in comparison to the previously reported 25% vacancy-ordered 3C polytype Cs4MnSb2Cl12 with 2D connectivity. This demonstrates not only the existence of the 10H perovskite structure in halides but also demonstrates the degree of B-site deficiency and stacking sequence variation as a direction to tune the optical properties of perovskite polytypes via vacancy rearrangements.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

2dFLenS and KiDS: determining source redshift distributions with cross-correlations

We develop a statistical estimator to infer the redshift probability distribution of a photometric sample of galaxies from its angular cross-correlation in redshift bins with an overlapping spectroscopic sample. This estimator is a minimum-variance weighted quadratic function of the data: a quadratic estimator. This extends and modifies the methodology presented by McQuinn & White. The derived source redshift distribution is degenerate with the source galaxy bias, which must be constrained via additional assumptions. We apply this estimator to constrain source galaxy redshift distributions in the Kilo-Degree imaging survey through cross-correlation with the spectroscopic 2-degree Field Lensing Survey, presenting results first as a binned step-wise distribution in the range z < 0.8, and then building a continuous distribution using a Gaussian process model. We demonstrate the robustness of our methodology using mock catalogues constructed from N-body simulations, and comparisons with other techniques for inferring the redshift distribution

Body odor quality predicts behavioral attractiveness in humans

Growing effort is being made to understand how different attractive physical traits co-vary within individuals, partly because this might indicate an underlying index of genetic quality. In humans, attention has focused on potential markers of quality such as facial attractiveness, axillary odor quality, the second-to-fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio and body mass index (BMI). Here we extend this approach to include visually-assessed kinesic cues (nonverbal behavior linked to movement) which are statistically independent of structural physical traits. The utility of such kinesic cues in mate assessment is controversial, particularly during everyday conversational contexts, as they could be unreliable and susceptible to deception. However, we show here that the attractiveness of nonverbal behavior, in 20 male participants, is predicted by perceived quality of their axillary body odor. This finding indicates covariation between two desirable traits in different sensory modalities. Depending on two different rating contexts (either a simple attractiveness rating or a rating for long-term partners by 10 female raters not using hormonal contraception), we also found significant relationships between perceived attractiveness of nonverbal behavior and BMI, and between axillary odor ratings and 2D:4D ratio. Axillary odor pleasantness was the single attribute that consistently predicted attractiveness of nonverbal behavior. Our results demonstrate that nonverbal kinesic cues could reliably reveal mate quality, at least in males, and could corroborate and contribute to mate assessment based on other physical traits

KiDS-i-800: Comparing weak gravitational lensing measurements from same-sky surveys

We present a weak gravitational lensing analysis of 815 deg2 of i-band imaging from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS-i-800). In contrast to the deep r-band observations, which take priority during excellent seeing conditions and form the primary KiDS data set (KiDS-r-450), the complementary yet shallower KiDS-i-800 spans a wide range of observing conditions. The overlapping KiDS-i-800 and KiDS-r-450 imaging therefore provides a unique opportunity to assess the robustness of weak lensing measurements. In our analysis we introduce two new 'null' tests. The 'nulled' two-point shear correlation function uses a matched catalogue to show that the calibrated KiDS-i-800 and KiDS-r-450 shear measurements agree at the level of 1 ± 4 per cent.We use five galaxy lens samples to determine a 'nulled' galaxy-galaxy lensing signal from the full KiDS-i-800 and KiDS-r-450 surveys and find that the measurements agree to 7 ± 5 per cent when the KiDS-i-800 source redshift distribution is calibrated using either spectroscopic redshifts, or the 30-band photometric redshifts from the COSMOS survey

Runx1 deficiency protects against adverse cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of heart failure and death worldwide. Preservation of contractile function and protection against adverse changes in ventricular architecture (cardiac remodeling) are key factors to limiting progression of this condition to heart failure. Consequently, new therapeutic targets are urgently required to achieve this aim. Expression of the Runx1 transcription factor is increased in adult cardiomyocytes after MI; however, the functional role of Runx1 in the heart is unknown. Methods: To address this question, we have generated a novel tamoxifen-inducible cardiomyocyte-specific Runx1-deficient mouse. Mice were subjected to MI by means of coronary artery ligation. Cardiac remodeling and contractile function were assessed extensively at the whole-heart, cardiomyocyte, and molecular levels. Results: Runx1-deficient mice were protected against adverse cardiac remodeling after MI, maintaining ventricular wall thickness and contractile function. Furthermore, these mice lacked eccentric hypertrophy, and their cardiomyocytes exhibited markedly improved calcium handling. At the mechanistic level, these effects were achieved through increased phosphorylation of phospholamban by protein kinase A and relief of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase inhibition. Enhanced sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase activity in Runx1-deficient mice increased sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium content and sarcoplasmic reticulum–mediated calcium release, preserving cardiomyocyte contraction after MI. Conclusions: Our data identified Runx1 as a novel therapeutic target with translational potential to counteract the effects of adverse cardiac remodeling, thereby improving survival and quality of life among patients with MI