Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe

Assessing local and regional economic impacts of climatic extremes and feasibility of adaptation measures in Dutch arable farming systems

We propose a method that combines local productivity factors, economic factors, crop-specific sensitivity to climatic extremes, and future climate change scenarios, to assess potential impacts of extreme weather events on agricultural production systems. Our assessment is spatially explicit and uses discounted time series of cash flows taking into account expected future impacts on yield and crop quality, to estimate changes in the expected net present value (NPV) of agricultural systems. We assess the economic feasibility of a portfolio of adaptation measures by considering their initial investments, annual costs, and effectiveness in reducing crop damage. We apply the method to investigate potential economic impacts of extreme weather events in arable farming systems in the Netherlands around 2050. We find that the expected increase in extreme weather events frequency can severely affect future productivity potential. Particularly, heat waves, warm winters, and high intensity rainfall are expected to substantially undermine the future economic viability of Dutch arable farming systems. The results indicate considerable differences between regions in terms of vulnerability to climatic extremes: while some regions are severely impacted by all climatic extremes, other regions consistently demonstrate high resilience to increases in extreme event frequency. The findings are robust to a wide range of scenarios and suggest that the interactions between economic factors and management practices (particularly, crop specialisation) are decisive drivers of the economic viability of agricultural systems under more frequent climatic extremes. However, the exact magnitude of the impacts remains highly uncertain, as we do not consider endogenous interactions in market conditions resulting from climate change and socio-economic developments. Nevertheless, crop adaptation measures should be regarded as no-regret strategies, since they alleviate both economic impacts and uncertainty around impact magnitude. The proposed method provides insights in region-specific threats and opportunities that are relevant for stakeholders and policy-makers. This information improves communication on main climate risks at the local and regional levels and contributes to prioritising adaptation strategies

Combined transgene immortalized urothelial cells capable of reprogramming and hepatic differentiation

Human primary cells, including urine-derived cells (UCs), are an excellent source for generation of pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model disease. However, replicative senescence starts early and shortens the time window for generation of iPSCs. We addressed the question whether combinations of transgenes allows efficient immortalization of UCs, iPSC generation, and differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs). Retroviral transfer of three gene cassettes HPVE6E7 (H), hTERT/p53DD (T), cyclinD1/CDK4R24C (C) encoding five genes was established in primary UCs. Long-term cell proliferation was observed in cells carrying transgenes H, HT, HC, and HCT, whereas cells carrying transgenes C, T and CT showed early senescence similar to UCs. iPSCs could be exclusively generated from immortalized UCs transduced with transgenes HCT and HC. iPSC colonies appeared however later and in smaller number as compared to UCs. Using an established hepatic differentiation protocol, HLCs were obtained with high efficacy. Of note, a high expression of individual transgenes was observed in immortalized UCs, which was down-regulated after reprogramming in four out of five genes. One transgene was re-expressed in HLCs as compared to iPSCs. Our data suggest that individual transgene combinations result in advanced growth rates of immortalized cells and do not prevent iPSC formation and HLC differentiation. Retroviral transgene expression is mostly silenced in iPSCs but can be rarely re-expressed after hepatic differentiation. An extended time window for iPSC establishment can be proposed that allows straightforward functional analyses of differentiated cells

Ageing processes of alkyl bonded phases in HPLC; a chromatographic and spectroscopic approach

Laboratory use of HPLC columns packed with C8 and C18 bonded phases leads to changes in selectivities and retention volumes. FTIR,1H NMR of hydrolysed bonded phases and solid state13C- and29Si NMR were applied to characterize the materials. The results of the various techniques are in fair agreement except solid state NMR. Loss of silane and hydrolysis of surface siloxane groups have been observed for the C8 bondes phase, while for the C18 material the latter process seems to dominate. The solid state NMR results have been tentatively explained in terms of changing chain arrangements and mobilities