Similarity and variability of blocked weather-regime dynamics in the Atlantic–European region

Weather regimes govern an important part of the sub-seasonal variability of the mid-latitude circulation. Due to their role in weather extremes and atmospheric predictability, regimes that feature a blocking anticyclone are of particular interest. This study investigates the dynamics of these “blocked” regimes in the North Atlantic–European region from a year-round perspective. For a comprehensive diagnostic, wave activity concepts and a piecewise potential vorticity (PV) tendency framework are combined. The latter essentially quantifies the well-established PV perspective of mid-latitude dynamics. The four blocked regimes (namely Atlantic ridge, European blocking, Scandinavian blocking, and Greenland blocking) during the 1979–2021 period of ERA5 reanalysis are considered. Wave activity characteristics exhibit distinct differences between blocked regimes. After regime onset, Greenland blocking is associated with a suppression of wave activity flux, whereas Atlantic ridge and European blocking are associated with a northward deflection of the flux without a clear net change. During onset, the envelope of Rossby wave activity retracts upstream for Greenland blocking, whereas the envelope extends downstream for Atlantic ridge and European blocking. Scandinavian blocking exhibits intermediate wave activity characteristics. From the perspective of piecewise PV tendencies projected onto the respective regime pattern, the dynamics that govern regime onset exhibit a large degree of similarity: linear Rossby wave dynamics and nonlinear eddy PV fluxes dominate and are of approximately equal relative importance, whereas baroclinic coupling and divergent amplification make minor contributions. Most strikingly, all blocked regimes exhibit very similar (intra-regime) variability: a retrograde and an upstream pathway to regime onset. The retrograde pathway is dominated by nonlinear PV eddy fluxes, whereas the upstream pathway is dominated by linear Rossby wave dynamics. Importantly, there is a large degree of cancellation between the two pathways for some of the mechanisms before regime onset. The physical meaning of a regime-mean perspective before onset can thus be severely limited. Implications of our results for understanding predictability of blocked regimes are discussed. Further discussed are the limitations of projected tendencies in capturing the importance of moist-baroclinic growth, which tends to occur in regions where the amplitude of the regime pattern, and thus the projection onto it, is small. Finally, it is stressed that this study investigates the variability of the governing dynamics without prior empirical stratification of data by season or by type of regime transition. It is demonstrated, however, that our dynamics-centered approach does not merely reflect variability that is associated with these factors. The main modes of dynamical variability revealed herein and the large similarity of the blocked regimes in exhibiting this variability are thus significant results.</p

Extrusion-Printing of Multi-Channeled Two-Component Hydrogel Constructs from Gelatinous Peptides and Anhydride-Containing Oligomers

The performance of artificial nerve guidance conduits (NGC) in peripheral nerve regeneration can be improved by providing structures with multiple small channels instead of a single wide lumen. 3D-printing is a strategy to access such multi-channeled structures in a defined and reproducible way. This study explores extrusion-based 3D-printing of two-component hydrogels from a single cartridge printhead into multi-channeled structures under aseptic conditions. The gels are based on a platform of synthetic, anhydride-containing oligomers for cross-linking of gelatinous peptides. Stable constructs with continuous small channels and a variety of footprints and sizes were successfully generated from formulations containing either an organic or inorganic gelation base. The adjustability of the system was investigated by varying the cross-linking oligomer and substituting the gelation bases controlling the cross-linking kinetics. Formulations with organic N-methyl-piperidin-3-ol and inorganic K2HPO4 yielded hydrogels with comparable properties after manual processing and extrusion-based 3D-printing. The slower reaction kinetics of formulations with K2HPO4 can be beneficial for extending the time frame for printing. The two-component hydrogels displayed both slow hydrolytic and activity-dependent enzymatic degradability. Together with satisfying in vitro cell proliferation data, these results indicate the suitability of our cross-linked hydrogels as multi-channeled NGC for enhanced peripheral nerve regeneration

Investigation of Mitochondrial Dysfunction by Sequential Microplate-Based Respiration Measurements from Intact and Permeabilized Neurons

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a component of many neurodegenerative conditions. Measurement of oxygen consumption from intact neurons enables evaluation of mitochondrial bioenergetics under conditions that are more physiologically realistic compared to isolated mitochondria. However, mechanistic analysis of mitochondrial function in cells is complicated by changing energy demands and lack of substrate control. Here we describe a technique for sequentially measuring respiration from intact and saponin-permeabilized cortical neurons on single microplates. This technique allows control of substrates to individual electron transport chain complexes following permeabilization, as well as side-by-side comparisons to intact cells. To illustrate the utility of the technique, we demonstrate that inhibition of respiration by the drug KB-R7943 in intact neurons is relieved by delivery of the complex II substrate succinate, but not by complex I substrates, via acute saponin permeabilization. In contrast, methyl succinate, a putative cell permeable complex II substrate, failed to rescue respiration in intact neurons and was a poor complex II substrate in permeabilized cells. Sequential measurements of intact and permeabilized cell respiration should be particularly useful for evaluating indirect mitochondrial toxicity due to drugs or cellular signaling events which cannot be readily studied using isolated mitochondria

Black Hole Entropy and Finite Geometry

It is shown that the $E_{6(6)}$ symmetric entropy formula describing black holes and black strings in D=5 is intimately tied to the geometry of the generalized quadrangle GQ$(2,4)$ with automorphism group the Weyl group $W(E_6)$. The 27 charges correspond to the points and the 45 terms in the entropy formula to the lines of GQ$(2,4)$. Different truncations with $15, 11$ and 9 charges are represented by three distinguished subconfigurations of GQ$(2,4)$, well-known to finite geometers; these are the "doily" (i. e. GQ$(2,2)$) with 15, the "perp-set" of a point with 11, and the "grid" (i. e. GQ$(2,1)$) with 9 points, respectively. In order to obtain the correct signs for the terms in the entropy formula, we use a non- commutative labelling for the points of GQ$(2,4)$. For the 40 different possible truncations with 9 charges this labelling yields 120 Mermin squares -- objects well-known from studies concerning Bell-Kochen-Specker-like theorems. These results are connected to our previous ones obtained for the $E_{7(7)}$ symmetric entropy formula in D=4 by observing that the structure of GQ$(2,4)$ is linked to a particular kind of geometric hyperplane of the split Cayley hexagon of order two, featuring 27 points located on 9 pairwise disjoint lines (a distance-3-spread). We conjecture that the different possibilities of describing the D=5 entropy formula using Jordan algebras, qubits and/or qutrits correspond to employing different coordinates for an underlying non-commutative geometric structure based on GQ$(2,4)$.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, v2 a new paragraph added, typos correcte

Soil and water bioengineering: practice and research needs for reconciling natural hazard control and ecological restoration

Soil and water bioengineering is a technology that encourages scientists and practitioners to combine their knowledge and skills in the management of ecosystems with a common goal to maximize benefits to both man and the natural environment. It involves techniques that use plants as living building materials, for: (i) natural hazard control (e.g., soil erosion, torrential floods and landslides) and (ii) ecological restoration or nature-based re-introduction of species on degraded lands, river embankments, and disturbed environments. For a bioengineering project to be successful, engineers are required to highlight all the potential benefits and ecosystem services by documenting the technical, ecological, economic and social values. The novel approaches used by bioengineers raise questions for researchers and necessitate innovation from practitioners to design bioengineering concepts and techniques. Our objective in this paper, therefore, is to highlight the practice and research needs in soil and water bioengineering for reconciling natural hazard control and ecological restoration. Firstly, we review the definition and development of bioengineering technology, while stressing issues concerning the design, implementation, and monitoring of bioengineering actions. Secondly, we highlight the need to reconcile natural hazard control and ecological restoration by posing novel practice and research questions

HtrA1 Mediated Intracellular Effects on Tubulin Using a Polarized RPE Disease Model

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss. The protein HtrA1 is enriched in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells isolated from AMD patients and in drusen deposits. However, it is poorly understood how increased levels of HtrA1 affect the physiological function of the RPE at the intracellular level. Here, we developed hfRPE (human fetal retinal pigment epithelial) cell culture model where cells fully differentiated into a polarized functional monolayer. In this model, we fine-tuned the cellular levels of HtrA1 by targeted overexpression. Our data show that HtrA1 enzymatic activity leads to intracellular degradation of tubulin with a corresponding reduction in the number of microtubules, and consequently to an altered mechanical cell phenotype. HtrA1 overexpression further leads to impaired apical processes and decreased phagocytosis, an essential function for photoreceptor survival. These cellular alterations correlate with the AMD phenotype and thus highlight HtrA1 as an intracellular target for therapeutic interventions towards AMD treatment

Isospin Physics in Heavy-Ion Collisions at Intermediate Energies

In nuclear collisions induced by stable or radioactive neutron-rich nuclei a transient state of nuclear matter with an appreciable isospin asymmetry as well as thermal and compressional excitation can be created. This offers the possibility to study the properties of nuclear matter in the region between symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter. In this review, we discuss recent theoretical studies of the equation of state of isospin-asymmetric nuclear matter and its relations to the properties of neutron stars and radioactive nuclei. Chemical and mechanical instabilities as well as the liquid-gas phase transition in asymmetric nuclear matter are investigated. The in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections at different isospin states are reviewed as they affect significantly the dynamics of heavy ion collisions induced by radioactive beams. We then discuss an isospin-dependent transport model, which includes different mean-field potentials and cross sections for the proton and neutron, and its application to these reactions. Furthermore, we review the comparisons between theoretical predictions and available experimental data. In particular, we discuss the study of nuclear stopping in terms of isospin equilibration, the dependence of nuclear collective flow and balance energy on the isospin-dependent nuclear equation of state and cross sections, the isospin dependence of total nuclear reaction cross sections, and the role of isospin in preequilibrium nucleon emissions and subthreshold pion production.Comment: 101 pages with embedded epsf figures, review article for "International Journal of Modern Physics E: Nuclear Physics". Send request for a hard copy to 1/author

Guidelines on experimental methods to assess mitochondrial dysfunction in cellular models of neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases are a spectrum of chronic, debilitating disorders characterised by the progressive degeneration and death of neurons. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in most neurodegenerative diseases, but in many instances it is unclear whether such dysfunction is a cause or an effect of the underlying pathology, and whether it represents a viable therapeutic target. It is therefore imperative to utilise and optimise cellular models and experimental techniques appropriate to determine the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction to neurodegenerative disease phenotypes. In this consensus article, we collate details on and discuss pitfalls of existing experimental approaches to assess mitochondrial function in in vitro cellular models of neurodegenerative diseases, including specific protocols for the measurement of oxygen consumption rate in primary neuron cultures, and single-neuron, time-lapse fluorescence imaging of the mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial NAD(P)H. As part of the Cellular Bioenergetics of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CeBioND) consortium ( www.cebiond.org ), we are performing cross-disease analyses to identify common and distinct molecular mechanisms involved in mitochondrial bioenergetic dysfunction in cellular models of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases. Here we provide detailed guidelines and protocols as standardised across the five collaborating laboratories of the CeBioND consortium, with additional contributions from other experts in the field

Computing pseudotriangulations via branched coverings

We describe an efficient algorithm to compute a pseudotriangulation of a finite planar family of pairwise disjoint convex bodies presented by its chirotope. The design of the algorithm relies on a deepening of the theory of visibility complexes and on the extension of that theory to the setting of branched coverings. The problem of computing a pseudotriangulation that contains a given set of bitangent line segments is also examined.Comment: 66 pages, 39 figure

Improved Mitochondrial Function with Diet-Induced Increase in Either Docosahexaenoic Acid or Arachidonic Acid in Membrane Phospholipids

Mitochondria can depolarize and trigger cell death through the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). We recently showed that an increase in the long chain n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n3) and depletion of the n6 PUFA arachidonic acid (ARA; 20:4n6) in mitochondrial membranes is associated with a greater Ca2+ load required to induce MPTP opening. Here we manipulated mitochondrial phospholipid composition by supplementing the diet with DHA, ARA or combined DHA+ARA in rats for 10 weeks. There were no effects on cardiac function, or respiration of isolated mitochondria. Analysis of mitochondrial phospholipids showed DHA supplementation increased DHA and displaced ARA in mitochondrial membranes, while supplementation with ARA or DHA+ARA increased ARA and depleted linoleic acid (18:2n6). Phospholipid analysis revealed a similar pattern, particularly in cardiolipin. Tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin was depleted by 80% with ARA or DHA+ARA supplementation, with linoleic acid side chains replaced by ARA. Both the DHA and ARA groups had delayed Ca2+-induced MPTP opening, but the DHA+ARA group was similar to the control diet. In conclusion, alterations in mitochondria membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition caused by dietary DHA or ARA was associated with a greater cumulative Ca2+ load required to induced MPTP opening. Further, high levels of tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin were not essential for normal mitochondrial function if replaced with very-long chain n3 or n6 PUFAs