Multicenter flow cytometry proficiency testing of canine blood and lymph node samples

Background: Flow cytometry (FC) is used increasingly in veterinary medicine for further characterization of hematolymphoid cells. Guidelines for optimizing assay performance and interpretation of results are limited, and concordance of results across laboratories is unknown. Objectives: This study aimed to determine inter-investigator agreement on the interpretation of FC results from split samples analyzed in different laboratories using various protocols, cytometers, and software; and on the interpretation of archived FC standard (FCS) data files contributed by the different investigators. Methods: This was a multicenter observational cross-sectional study. Anticoagulated blood or lymph node aspirate samples from nine client-owned dogs were aliquoted and shipped to participating laboratories. Samples were analyzed with individual laboratory-developed protocols. In addition, FCS files from a set of separate samples from 11 client-owned dogs were analyzed by participating investigators. A person not associated with the study tabulated the results and interpretations. Agreement of interpretations was assessed with Fleiss\u2019 kappa statistic. Results: Prolonged transit times affected sample quality for some laboratories. Overall agreement among investigators regarding the FC sample interpretation was strong (\u3ba = 0.86 \ub1 0.19, P <.001), and for specific categories, ranged from moderate to perfect. Agreement of the lymphoproliferation or other leukocyte sample category from the analysis of the FCS files was weak (\u3ba = 0.58 \ub1 0.05, P <.001). Conclusions: Lymphoproliferations were readily identified by FC, but identification of the categories of hematolymphoid neoplasia in fresh samples or archived files was variable. There is a need for a more standardized approach to maximize the enormous potential of FC in veterinary medicine

Rotating Einstein-Yang-Mills Black Holes

We construct rotating hairy black holes in SU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills theory. These stationary axially symmetric black holes are asymptotically flat. They possess non-trivial non-Abelian gauge fields outside their regular event horizon, and they carry non-Abelian electric charge. In the limit of vanishing angular momentum, they emerge from the neutral static spherically symmetric Einstein-Yang-Mills black holes, labelled by the node number of the gauge field function. With increasing angular momentum and mass, the non-Abelian electric charge of the solutions increases, but remains finite. The asymptotic expansion for these black hole solutions includes non-integer powers of the radial variable.Comment: 63 pages, 10 figure

Study of a Swiss dopa-responsive dystonia family with a deletion in GCH1: redefining DYT14 as DYT5.

OBJECTIVE: To report the study of a multigenerational Swiss family with dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD). METHODS: Clinical investigation was made of available family members, including historical and chart reviews. Subject examinations were video recorded. Genetic analysis included a genome-wide linkage study with microsatellite markers (STR), GTP cyclohydrolase I (GCH1) gene sequencing, and dosage analysis. RESULTS: We evaluated 32 individuals, of whom 6 were clinically diagnosed with DRD, with childhood-onset progressive foot dystonia, later generalizing, followed by parkinsonism in the two older patients. The response to levodopa was very good. Two additional patients had late onset dopa-responsive parkinsonism. Three other subjects had DRD symptoms on historical grounds. We found suggestive linkage to the previously reported DYT14 locus, which excluded GCH1. However, further study with more stringent criteria for disease status attribution showed linkage to a larger region, which included GCH1. No mutation was found in GCH1 by gene sequencing but dosage methods identified a novel heterozygous deletion of exons 3 to 6 of GCH1. The mutation was found in seven subjects. One of the patients with dystonia represented a phenocopy. CONCLUSIONS: This study rules out the previously reported DYT14 locus as a cause of disease, as a novel multiexonic deletion was identified in GCH1. This work highlights the necessity of an accurate clinical diagnosis in linkage studies as well as the need for appropriate allele frequencies, penetrance, and phenocopy estimates. Comprehensive sequencing and dosage analysis of known genes is recommended prior to genome-wide linkage analysis

Boundary condition model for the simulation of organic solar cells

(c) 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566119917302434Organic solar cells (OSCs) are promising photovoltaic devices to convert solar energy into electrical energy. Their many advantages such as lightweight, flexibility and low manufacturing costs are intrinsic to the organic/polymeric technology. However, because the performance of OSCs is still not competitive with inorganic solar cells, there is urgent need to improve the device performance using better designs, technologies and models. In this work, we focus on the developing an accurate physics-based model that relates the charge carrier density at the metal-organic boundaries with the current density in OSCs using our previous studies on single-carrier and bipolar diodes. The model for the boundary condition of the charge carrier density at the interfaces of OSCs follows a power-law function with the current density, both in dark and under illumination, and simulated current-voltage characteristics are verified with experimental results. The numerical simulations of the current-voltage characteristics of OSCs consider well-established models for the main physical and optical processes that take place in the device: light absorption and generation of excitons, dissociation of excitons into free charge carriers, charge transport, recombination and injection-extraction of free carriers. Our analysis provides important insights on the influence of the metal-organic interfaces on the overall performance of OSCs. The model is also used to explain the anomalous S-shape current-voltage curves found in some experimental data.This work was supported by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia under research Grant FPU12/02712 and MINECO/FEDER under research Project MAT2016-76892-C3-3-R, and the Canada Research Chair program, NSERC ResEau strategic network and the NCE IC-IMPACTS

A place-based approach to payments for ecosystem services

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are proliferating but are challenged by insufficient attention to spatial and temporal inter-dependencies, interactions between different ecosystems and their services, and the need for multi-level governance. To address these challenges, this paper develops a place-based approach to the development and implementation of PES schemes that incorporates multi-level governance, bundling or layering of services across multiple scales, and shared values for ecosystem services. The approach is evaluated and illustrated using case study research to develop an explicitly place-based PES scheme, the Peatland Code, owned and managed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s UK Peatland Programme and designed to pay for restoration of peatland habitats. Buyers preferred bundled schemes with premium pricing of a primary service, contrasting with sellers’ preferences for quantifying and marketing services separately in a layered scheme. There was limited awareness among key business sectors of dependencies on ecosystem services, or the risks and opportunities arising from their management. Companies with financial links to peatlands or a strong environmental sustainability focus were interested in the scheme, particularly in relation to climate regulation, water quality, biodiversity and flood risk mitigation benefits. Visitors were most interested in donating to projects that benefited wildlife and were willing to donate around £2 on-site during a visit. Sellers agreed a deliberated fair price per tonne of CO2 equivalent from £11.18 to £15.65 across four sites in Scotland, with this range primarily driven by spatial variation in habitat degradation. In the Peak District, perceived declines in sheep and grouse productivity arising from ditch blocking led to substantially higher prices, but in other regions ditch blocking was viewed more positively. The Peatland Code was developed in close collaboration with stakeholders at catchment, landscape and national scales, enabling multi-level governance of the management and delivery of ecosystem services across these scales. Place-based PES schemes can mitigate negative trade-offs between ecosystem services, more effectively include cultural ecosystem services and engage with and empower diverse stakeholders in scheme design and governance

MicroRNA-23 restricts cardiac valve formation by inhibiting Has2 and extracellular hyaluronic acid production

RATIONALE: Since their discovery almost 20 years ago, microRNAs have been shown to perform essential roles during tissue development and disease. Although roles for microRNAs in the myocardium during embryo development and cardiac disease have been demonstrated, very little is know about their role in the endocardium or during cardiac valve formation. OBJECTIVE: To study the role of microRNAs in cardiac valve formation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We show that zebrafish dicer mutant embryos, lacking mature miRNAs, form excessive endocardial cushions. By screening miRNAs expressed in the heart, we found that miR-23 is both necessary and sufficient for restricting the number of endocardial cells that differentiate into endocardial cushion cells. In addition, in mouse endothelial cells, miR-23 inhibited a transforming growth factor-beta-induced endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. By in silico screening of expression data with predicted miR-23 target sites combined with in vivo testing, we identified hyaluronic acid synthase 2 (Has2), Icat, and Tmem2 as novel direct targets of miR-23. Finally, we demonstrate that the upregulation of Has2, an extracellular remodeling enzyme required for endocardial cushion and valve formation, is responsible for the excessive endocardial cushion cell differentiation in dicer mutants. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-23 in the embryonic heart is required to restrict endocardial cushion formation by inhibiting Has2 expression and extracellular hyaluronic acid production. [KEYWORDS: Animals, Animals, Genetically Modified, Cell Count, Cell Differentiation, Cells, Cultured, Endocardial Cushions/cytology/metabolism, Extracellular Fluid/ metabolism, Glucuronosyltransferase/antagonists & inhibitors/ biosynthesis, Heart Valves/ embryology/ metabolism, Hyaluronic Acid/antagonists & inhibitors/ biosynthesis, Mice, MicroRNAs/ physiology, Zebrafish, Zebrafish Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors/ biosynthesis

MicroRNA-23 restricts cardiac valve formation by inhibiting Has2 and extracellular hyaluronic acid production

RATIONALE: Since their discovery almost 20 years ago, microRNAs have been shown to perform essential roles during tissue development and disease. Although roles for microRNAs in the myocardium during embryo development and cardiac disease have been demonstrated, very little is know about their role in the endocardium or during cardiac valve formation. OBJECTIVE: To study the role of microRNAs in cardiac valve formation. METHODS AND RESULTS: We show that zebrafish dicer mutant embryos, lacking mature miRNAs, form excessive endocardial cushions. By screening miRNAs expressed in the heart, we found that miR-23 is both necessary and sufficient for restricting the number of endocardial cells that differentiate into endocardial cushion cells. In addition, in mouse endothelial cells, miR-23 inhibited a transforming growth factor-beta-induced endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. By in silico screening of expression data with predicted miR-23 target sites combined with in vivo testing, we identified hyaluronic acid synthase 2 (Has2), Icat, and Tmem2 as novel direct targets of miR-23. Finally, we demonstrate that the upregulation of Has2, an extracellular remodeling enzyme required for endocardial cushion and valve formation, is responsible for the excessive endocardial cushion cell differentiation in dicer mutants. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-23 in the embryonic heart is required to restrict endocardial cushion formation by inhibiting Has2 expression and extracellular hyaluronic acid production. [KEYWORDS: Animals, Animals, Genetically Modified, Cell Count, Cell Differentiation, Cells, Cultured, Endocardial Cushions/cytology/metabolism, Extracellular Fluid/ metabolism, Glucuronosyltransferase/antagonists & inhibitors/ biosynthesis, Heart Valves/ embryology/ metabolism, Hyaluronic Acid/antagonists & inhibitors/ biosynthesis, Mice, MicroRNAs/ physiology, Zebrafish, Zebrafish Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors/ biosynthesis]

Accuracy of the European solar water heater test procedure. Part 1 : Measurement errors and parameter estimates

International audienceThe Collector and System Testing Group (CSTG) of the European Community has developed a procedure for testing the performance of solar water heaters. This procedure treats a solar water heater as a black box with input-output parameters that are determined by all-day tests. In the present study we carry out a systematic analysis of the accuracy of this procedure, in order to answer the question: what tolerances should one impose for the measurements and how many days of testing should one demand under what meteorological conditions, in order to be able to guarantee a specified maximum error for the long term performance? Our methodology is applicable to other test procedures as well. The present paper (Part 1) examines the measurement tolerances of the current version of the procedure and derives a priori estimates of the errors of the parameters; these errors are then compared with the regression results of the Round Robin test series. The companion paper (Part 2) evaluates the consequences for the accuracy of the long term performance prediction. We conclude that the CSTG test procedure makes it possible to predict the long term performance with standard errors around 5% for sunny climates (10% for cloudy climates). The apparent precision of individual test sequences is deceptive because of large systematic discrepancies between different sequences. Better results could be obtained by imposing tighter control on the constancy of the cold water supply temperature and on the environment of the test, the latter by enforcing the recommendation for the ventilation of the collector