Spaceflight modulates gene expression in the whole blood of astronauts

Astronauts are exposed to a unique combination of stressors during spaceflight, which leads to alterations in their physiology and potentially increases their susceptibility to disease, including infectious diseases. To evaluate the potential impact of the spaceflight environment on the regulation of molecular pathways mediating cellular stress responses, we performed a first-of-its-kind pilot study to assess spaceflight-related gene-expression changes in the whole blood of astronauts. Using an array comprised of 234 well-characterized stress-response genes, we profiled transcriptomic changes in six astronauts (four men and two women) from blood preserved before and immediately following the spaceflight. Differentially regulated transcripts included those important for DNA repair, oxidative stress, and protein folding/degradation, including HSP90AB1, HSP27, GPX1, XRCC1, BAG-1, HHR23A, FAP48, and C-FOS. No gender-specific differences or relationship to number of missions flown was observed. This study provides a first assessment of transcriptomic changes occurring in the whole blood of astronauts in response to spaceflight

Recognition of differences in the capacity to deal with floods—A cross-country comparison of flood risk management

Flood risks worldwide are increasing due to climate change. Managing these risks is ever more necessary. Although flood risk management (FRM) is often understood as a technical challenge, it also involves decisions about the distribution of resources and risks in floods, which can be inherently unfair. People are disparately affected by floods due to their location. Because of their various socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, they also differ in their capacity to deal with floods. These differences need to be recognised in FRM to prevent disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities. However, at present, a knowledge gap exists on how to make FRM more inclusive and just, and discussions on recognition justice in the context of FRM are scarce. This article therefore examines recognition of differences in the capacity of people to deal with floods in FRM in England (United Kingdom), Finland, Flanders (Belgium) and France. We analyse if, and how, these differences are recognised in FRM policy and practice and through decision-making procedures, drawing on examples from the implementation of five FRM strategies in each country (flood risk prevention, flood defence, flood risk mitigation, flood preparation and flood recovery). Furthermore, we aim to highlight opportunity spaces to strengthen recognition justice in future FRM

Coproducing flood risk management through citizen involvement: insights from cross-country comparison in Europe

Across Europe, citizens are increasingly expected to participate in the implementation of flood risk management (FRM), by engaging in voluntary-based activities to enhance preparedness, implementing property-level measures, etc. While citizen participation in FRM decision-making is widely addressed in academic literature, citizens' involvement in the delivery of FRM measures is comparatively understudied. Drawing from public administration literature, this paper adopts the notion of 'co-production' as an analytical framework for studying the interaction between citizens and public authorities, from the decision making process through to the implementation of FRM in practice. The paper considers to what extent co-production is evident in selected EU Member States, drawing from research conducted within the EU project 'STAR-FLOOD'. On the basis of a cross-country comparison between Flanders (Belgium), England (UK), France, the Netherlands and Poland, this research highlights the varied forms of co-production and reflects on how these have been established within divergent settings. Co-production is most outspoken in discourse and practice in England, and is emergent in France and Flanders. By contrast, FRM in the Netherlands and Poland remains almost exclusively reliant on governmental protection measures and thereby consultation-based forms of co-production. Analysis reveals how these actions are motivated by different underlying rationales, which in turn shape the type of approaches and degree of institutionalization of co-production. In the Netherlands, co-production is primarily encouraged to increase societal resilience, while public authorities in the other countries use it as well to improve cost-efficiency and redistribute responsibilities to its beneficiaries

Antimicrobial efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation in a three-dimensional lung epithelial model and the influence of fetal bovine serum

In vitro models that mimic in vivo host-pathogen interactions are needed to evaluate candidate drugs that inhibit bacterial virulence traits. We established a new approach to study Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm susceptibility on biotic surfaces, using a three-dimensional (3-D) lung epithelial cell model. P. aeruginosa formed antibiotic resistant biofilms on 3-D cells without affecting cell viability. The biofilm-inhibitory activity of antibiotics and/or the anti-biofilm peptide DJK-5 were evaluated on 3-D cells compared to a plastic surface, in medium with and without fetal bovine serum (FBS). In both media, aminoglycosides were more efficacious in the 3-D cell model. In serum-free medium, most antibiotics (except polymyxins) showed enhanced efficacy when 3-D cells were present. In medium with FBS, colistin was less efficacious in the 3-D cell model. DJK-5 exerted potent inhibition of P. aeruginosa association with both substrates, only in serum-free medium. DJK-5 showed stronger inhibitory activity against P. aeruginosa associated with plastic compared to 3-D cells. The combined addition of tobramycin and DJK-5 exhibited more potent ability to inhibit P. aeruginosa association with both substrates. In conclusion, lung epithelial cells influence the efficacy of most antimicrobials against P. aeruginosa biofilm formation, which in turn depends on the presence or absence of FBS

Electron Microprobe Analysis of Electrolytes in Whole Cultured Epithelial Cells

Microprobe analysis was used to determine electrolyte contents in whole epithelial sheets of A6 cells and to investigate the most critical points of this method. Analysis of dextran standard sections of different thickness revealed that low accelerating voltages of about 10 kV are best suited for whole freeze-dried cells on thick supports, since 5 μm thick sections are not penetrated by 10 kV electrons. Washing of A6 cells for 10 sec with distilled water led to cell swelling of about 40%, but the molar concentration ratios and the concentrations per dry weight (dw) were not altered. Washing for 60 sec with distilled water caused a further increase in cell volume (120%) and loss of cellular K and Cl (90 mmol/kg dw). Washing with isotonic NH4-acetate led to a loss of cell Cl already after 10 sec. To characterize the Na transport compartment, A6 cells cultured on permeable supports were washed for 5 sec with distilled water, freeze-dried, and analyzed. Inhibition of transepithelial Na transport by ouabain increased Na/P from 0.15±0.07 to 0.75±0.03 and Cl/P from 0.21±0.001 to 0.38±0.003 while KIP decreased from 0.83±0.08 to 0.32±0.03. The changes in cell Na and K contents can be explained by K/Na exchange; the increase in Cl content indicates some cell swelling. Since the ouabain-induced changes could be prevented by apical amiloride, the apical membrane provides the most important pathway for Na entry in A6 cells

ANTIBODIES OF THE IgA TYPE IN INTESTINAL PLASMA CELLS OF GERMFREE MICE AFTER ORAL OR PARENTERAL IMMUNIZATION WITH FERRITIN

In adult germfree C3H mice immunized with horse spleen ferritin, either subcutaneously or intraperitoneally, plasma cells containing specific antibodies were found in lymph nodes and spleen and, in smaller numbers, also in the lamina propria of the intestine. In extraintestinal sites, these antiferritin-containing plasma cells were mainly of the IgM class after a single stimulation, and of the IgG1 class after repeated stimulation. In the intestine, all the anti-ferritin-containing cells appeared to be of the IgA class. Circulating antibodies, after repeated stimulation, were for the major part IgG1 and IgG2. In germfree mice given ferritin in their drinking water, antiferritin-containing cells were abundant in the intestinal mucosa, much less numerous in the mesenteric lymph nodes, and extremely scarce in other lymphoid tissues. All these cells, whatever their location, appeared to belong exclusively to the IgA class. Similarly, all the circulating antibody in these animals was found to be IgA. These findings illustrate the role of the gut as a site of antibody synthesis, as well as its selective commitment to the production of antibodies of the IgA class

Is flood defense changing in nature? Shifts in the flood defense strategy in six European countries

In many countries, flood defense has historically formed the core of flood risk management but this strategy is now evolving with the changing approach to risk management. This paper focuses on the neglected analysis of institutional changes within the flood defense strategies formulated and implemented in six European countries (Belgium, England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden). The evolutions within the defense strategy over the last 30 years have been analyzed with the help of three mainstream institutional theories: a policy dynamics-oriented framework, a structure-oriented institutional theory on path dependency, and a policy actors-oriented analysis called the advocacy coalitions framework. We characterize the stability and evolution of the trends that affect the defense strategy in the six countries through four dimensions of a policy arrangement approach: actors, rules, resources, and discourses. We ask whether the strategy itself is changing radically, i.e., toward a discontinuous situation, and whether the processes of change are more incremental or radical. Our findings indicate that in the European countries studied, the position of defense strategy is continuous, as the classical role of flood defense remains dominant. With changing approaches to risk, integrated risk management, climate change, urban growth, participation in governance, and socioeconomic challenges, the flood defense strategy is increasingly under pressure to change. However, these changes can be defined as part of an adaptation of the defense strategy rather than as a real change in the nature of flood risk management

Flood risk mitigation in Europe: how far away are we from the aspired forms of adaptive governance?

Flood mitigation is a strategy that is growing in importance across Europe. This growth corresponds with an increasing emphasis on the need to learn to live with floods and make space for water. Flood mitigation measures aim at reducing the likelihood and magnitude of flooding and complement flood defenses. They are being put in place through the implementation of actions that accommodate (rather than resist) water, such as natural flood management or adapted housing. The strategy has gained momentum over the past 20 years in an effort to improve the sustainability of flood risk management (FRM) and facilitate the diversification of FRM in the pursuit of societal resilience to flooding. Simultaneously, it is increasingly argued that adaptive forms of governance are best placed to address the uncertainty and complexity associated with social-ecological systems responding to environmental challenges, such as flooding. However, there have been few attempts to examine the extent to which current flood risk governance, and flood mitigation specifically, reflect these aspired forms of adaptive governance. Drawing from EU research into flood risk governance, conducted within the STAR-FLOOD project, we examine the governance of flood mitigation in six European countries: Belgium, England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden. Using in-depth policy and legal analysis, as well as interviews with key actors, the governance and implementation of flood mitigation in these countries is evaluated from the normative viewpoint of whether, and to what extent, it can be characterized as adaptive governance. We identify five criteria of adaptive governance based on a comprehensive literature review and apply these to each country to determine the “distance” between current governance arrangements and adaptive governance. In conclusion, the flood mitigation strategy provides various opportunities for actors to further pursue forms of adaptive governance. The extent to which the mitigation strategy is capable of doing so varies across countries, however, and its role in stimulating adaptive governance was found to be strongest in Belgium and England