Distinct Types of Fibrocyte Can Differentiate from Mononuclear Cells in the Presence and Absence of Serum

Background: Ageing, immunity and stresstolerance are inherent characteristics of all organisms. In animals, these traits are regulated, at least in part, by forkhead transcription factors in response to upstream signals from the Insulin/Insulin–like growth factor signalling (IIS) pathway. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, these phenotypes are molecularly linked such that activation of the forkhead transcription factor DAF-16 both extends lifespan and simultaneously increases immunity and stress resistance. It is known that lifespan varies significantly among the Caenorhabditis species but, although DAF-16 signalling is highly conserved, it is unclear whether this phenotypic linkage occurs in other species. Here we investigate this phenotypic covariance by comparing longevity, stress resistance and immunity in four Caenorhabditis species. Methodology/Principal Findings: We show using phenotypic analysis of DAF-16 influenced phenotypes that among four closely related Caenorhabditis nematodes, the gonochoristic species (Caenorhabditis remanei and Caenorhabditis brenneri) have diverged significantly with a longer lifespan, improved stress resistance and higher immunity than the hermaphroditic species (C. elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae). Interestingly, we also observe significant differences in expression levels between the daf-16 homologues in these species using Real-Time PCR, which positively correlate with the observed phenotypes. Finally, we provide additional evidence in support of a role for DAF-16 in regulating phenotypic coupling by using a combination of wildtype isolates, constitutively active daf-16 mutants and bioinformatic analysis. Conclusions: The gonochoristic species display a significantly longer lifespan (p<0.0001) and more robust immune and stress response (p<0.0001, thermal stress; p<0.01, heavy metal stress; p<0.0001, pathogenic stress) than the hermaphroditic species. Our data suggests that divergence in DAF-16 mediated phenotypes may underlie many of the differences observed between these four species of Caenorhabditis nematodes. These findings are further supported by the correlative higher daf-16 expression levels among the gonochoristic species and significantly higher lifespan, immunity and stress tolerance in the constitutively active daf-16 hermaphroditic mutants

The Developmental Trajectories of Children’s Reorientation to Global and Local Properties of Environmental Geometry

The way in which organisms represent the shape of their environments during navigation has been debated in cognitive, comparative, and developmental psychology. While there is evidence that adult humans encode the entire boundary shape of an environment (a global-shape representation), there are also data demonstrating that organisms reorient using only segments of the boundary that signal a goal location (a local-shape representation). Developmental studies offer unique insights into this debate; however, most studies have used designs that cannot dissociate the type of boundary-shape representation that children use to guide reorientation. Thus, we examined the developmental trajectories of children’s reorientation according to local and global boundary shape. Participants aged 6–12 years were trained to find a goal hidden in one corner of a virtual arena, after which they were required to reorient in a novel test arena. From 10.5 years, children performed above chance when the test arena permitted reorientation based only on local-shape (Experiment 2), or only global-shape (Experiment 3) information. Moreover, when these responses were placed into conflict, older children reoriented with respect to global-shape information (Experiment 4). These age-related findings were not due to older children being better able to reorient in virtual environments per se: when trained and tested within the same environment (Experiment 1), children performed above chance from 6 years. Together, our results suggest (a) the ability to reorient on the basis of global and local-shape representations develops in parallel, and (b) shape-based information is weighted to determine which representation informs reorientatio

The Cellular Composition of the Uveal Immune Environment

The uveal tract consists of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid; these three distinct tissues form a continuous layer within the eye. Uveitis refers to inflammation of any region of the uveal tract. Despite being grouped together anatomically, the iris, ciliary body and choroid are distinct functionally, and inflammatory diseases may affect only one part and not the others. Cellular structure of tissues direct their function, and understanding the cellular basis of the immune environment of a tissue in health, the "steady state" on which the perturbations of disease are superimposed, is vital to understanding the pathogenesis of those diseases. A contemporary understanding of the immune system accepts that haematopoietic and yolk sac derived leukocytes, though vital, are not the only players of importance. An array of stromal cells, connective tissue cells such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells, may also have a role in the inflammatory reaction seen in several immune-mediated diseases. In this review we summarise what is known about the cellular composition of the uveal tract and the roles these disparate cell types have to play in immune homeostasis. We also discuss some unanswered questions surrounding the constituents of the resident leukocyte population of the different uveal tissues, and we look ahead to the new understanding that modern investigative techniques such as single cell transcriptomics, multi-omic data integration and highly-multiplexed imaging techniques may bring to the study of the uvea and uveitis, as they already have to other immune mediated inflammatory diseases

Performance of distributed PV in the UK: a statistical analysis of over 7000 systems

In June 2015, the UK fleet of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems reached 7.8 GWp of capacity, but there are wide gaps in our understanding of the performance of these systems, which has lead to the conservative limit of 10 GWp being imposed on UK PV capacity by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Here we present the results of a statistical analysis of real world UK PV systems which donate data to the Microgen Database, of which there are over 7000. The mean yearly-integrated Performance Ratio (PR) of domestic scale UK PV is 83% with a standard deviation of 7%. By considering yearly-integrated PR, we have shown that 4.1 % of systems suffered long-term underperformance relative to their nominal efficiencies during 2013. The mean degradation rate for crystalline Siliconbased PV systems in the UK is -0.8 ± 0.1% per year. The state-of-the-art of UK PV, in terms of technology, manufacturing, and installation-standards, is found to have increased by 1% per year between 2002 and 2013

Opening up the participation laboratory: the co-creation of publics and futures in upstream participation.

How to embed reflexivity in public participation in techno-science and to open it up to the agency of publics are key concerns in current debates. There is a risk that engagements become limited to “laboratory experiments,” highly controlled and foreclosed by participation experts, particularly in upstream techno-sciences. In this paper, we propose a way to open up the “participation laboratory” by engaging localized, self-assembling publics in ways that respect and mobilize their ecologies of participation. Our innovative reflexive methodology introduced participatory methods to public engagement with upstream techno-science, with the public contributing to both the content and format of the project. Reflecting on the project, we draw attention to the largely overlooked issue of temporalities of participation, and the co-production of futures and publics in participation methodologies. We argue that many public participation methodologies are underpinned by the open futures model, which imagines the future as a space of unrestrained creativity. We contrast that model with the lived futures model typical of localized publics, which respects latency of materials and processes but imposes limits on creativity. We argue that to continue being societally relevant and scientifically important, public participation methods should reconcile the open future of research with the lived futures of localized publics

Application of hydrides in hydrogen storage and compression: Achievements, outlook and perspectives

Metal hydrides are known as a potential efficient, low-risk option for high-density hydrogen storage since the late 1970s. In this paper, the present status and the future perspectives of the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage are discussed. Since the early 1990s, interstitial metal hydrides are known as base materials for Ni – metal hydride rechargeable batteries. For hydrogen storage, metal hydride systems have been developed in the 2010s [1] for use in emergency or backup power units, i. e. for stationary applications. With the development and completion of the first submarines of the U212 A series by HDW (now Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems) in 2003 and its export class U214 in 2004, the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage in mobile applications has been established, with new application fields coming into focus. In the last decades, a huge number of new intermetallic and partially covalent hydrogen absorbing compounds has been identified and partly more, partly less extensively characterized. In addition, based on the thermodynamic properties of metal hydrides, this class of materials gives the opportunity to develop a new hydrogen compression technology. They allow the direct conversion from thermal energy into the compression of hydrogen gas without the need of any moving parts. Such compressors have been developed and are nowadays commercially available for pressures up to 200 bar. Metal hydride based compressors for higher pressures are under development. Moreover, storage systems consisting of the combination of metal hydrides and high-pressure vessels have been proposed as a realistic solution for on-board hydrogen storage on fuel cell vehicles. In the frame of the “Hydrogen Storage Systems for Mobile and Stationary Applications” Group in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Hydrogen Task 32 “Hydrogen-based energy storage”, different compounds have been and will be scaled-up in the near future and tested in the range of 500 g to several hundred kg for use in hydrogen storage applications.Fil: Bellosta von Colbe, Jose. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Ares Fernández, José Ramón. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Jussara, Barale. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Baricco, Marcello. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Buckley, Craig E.. Curtin University; AustraliaFil: Capurso, Giovanni. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Gallandat, Noris. GRZ Technologies Ltd; SuizaFil: Grant, David M.. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino Unido. University of Nottingham; Estados UnidosFil: Guzik, Matylda N.. University of Oslo; NoruegaFil: Jacob, Isaac. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Jensen, Emil H.. University of Oslo; NoruegaFil: Jensen, Torben. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Jepsen, Julian. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Klassen, Thomas. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Lototskyy, Mykhaylol V.. University of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Manickam, Kandavel. University of Nottingham; Estados Unidos. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino UnidoFil: Montone, Amelia. Casaccia Research Centre; ItaliaFil: Puszkiel, Julián Atilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Sartori, Sabrina. University of Oslo; NoruegaFil: Sheppard, Drew A.. Curtin University; AustraliaFil: Stuart, Alastair. University of Nottingham; Estados Unidos. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino UnidoFil: Walker, Gavin. University of Nottingham; Estados Unidos. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino UnidoFil: Webb, Colin J.. Griffith University; AustraliaFil: Yang, Heena. Empa Materials Science & Technology; Suiza. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Yartys, Volodymyr. Institute for Energy Technology; NoruegaFil: Züttel, Andreas. Empa Materials Science & Technology; Suiza. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Dornheim, Martin. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemani

Interventions to Influence Consulting and Antibiotic Use for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common in children and generally self-limiting, yet often result in consultations to primary care. Frequent consultations divert resources from care for potentially more serious conditions and increase the opportunity for antibiotic overuse. Overuse of antibiotics is associated with adverse effects and antimicrobial resistance, and has been shown to influence how patients seek care in ensuing illness episodes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of interventions directed towards parents or caregivers which were designed to influence consulting and antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children in primary care. Main outcomes were parental consulting rate, parental knowledge, and proportion of children subsequently consuming antibiotics. Of 5,714 references, 23 studies (representing 20 interventions) met inclusion criteria. Materials designed to engage children in addition to parents were effective in modifying parental knowledge and behaviour, resulting in reductions in consulting rates ranging from 13 to 40%. Providing parents with delayed prescriptions significantly decreased reported antibiotic use (Risk Ratio (RR) 0.46 (0.40, 0.54); moreover, a delayed or no prescribing approach did not diminish parental satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: IN ORDER TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE, INTERVENTIONS TO INFLUENCE PARENTAL CONSULTING AND ANTIBIOTIC USE SHOULD: engage children, occur prior to an illness episode, employ delayed prescribing, and provide guidance on specific symptoms. These results support the wider implementation of interventions to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in children

A review of energy systems models in the UK: Prevalent usage and categorisation

In this paper, a systematic review of academic literature and policy papers since 2008 is undertaken with an aim of identifying the prevalent energy systems models and tools in the UK. A list of all referenced models is presented and the literature is analysed with regards sectoral coverage and technological inclusion, as well as mathematical structure of models. The paper compares available models using an appropriate classification schema, the introduction of which is aimed at making the model landscape more accessible and perspicuous, thereby enhancing the diversity of models within use. The distinct classification presented in this paper comprises three sections, which specify the model purpose and structure, technological detail and mathematical approach. The schema is not designed to be comprehensive, but rather to be a broad classification with pertinent level of information required to differentiate between models. As an example, the UK model landscape is considered and 22 models are classified in three tables, as per the proposed schema