Meteorological forcing data for urban outdoor thermal comfort models from a coupled convective boundary layer and surface energy balance scheme

Site-specific meteorological forcing appropriate for applications such as urban outdoor thermal comfort simulations can be obtained using a newly coupled scheme that combines a simple slab convective boundary layer (CBL) model and urban land surface model (ULSM) (here two ULSMs are considered). The former simulates daytime CBL height, air temperature and humidity, and the latter estimates urban surface energy and water balance fluxes accounting for changes in land surface cover. The coupled models are tested at a suburban site and two rural sites, one irrigated and one unirrigated grass, in Sacramento, U.S.A. All the variables modelled compare well to measurements (e.g. coefficient of determination = 0.97 and root mean square error = 1.5 °C for air temperature). The current version is applicable to daytime conditions and needs initial state conditions for the CBL model in the appropriate range to obtain the required performance. The coupled model allows routine observations from distant sites (e.g. rural, airport) to be used to predict air temperature and relative humidity in an urban area of interest. This simple model, which can be rapidly applied, could provide urban data for applications such as air quality forecasting and building energy modelling, in addition to outdoor thermal comfort

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field

BMC Cancer

BACKGROUND: Although some countries have observed a stabilization in the incidence of CNS, an increasing incidence has been reported from multiple studies. Recent observations point out to the heterogeneity of incidence trends according to histological subtypes, gender and age-groups. Using a high-quality regional CNS tumor registry, this article describes the trends of CNS tumor incidence for main histological subtypes, including benign and malignant tumors, in the French department of Gironde from 2000 to 2012. METHODS: Crude and age-standardized incidence rates were calculated globally, by histological subtypes, malignant status, gender and age groups. For trends, annual percent changes (APC) were obtained from a piecewise log-linear model. RESULTS: A total of 3515 CNS tumors was registered during the period. The incidence of overall CNS tumors was 19/100000 person-years (8.3/100000 for neuroepithelial tumors and 7.3/100000 for meningeal tumors). An increased incidence of overall CNS tumors was observed from 2000 to 2012 (APC = + 2.7%; 95%-confidence interval (CI): 1.8-3.7). This trend was mainly explained by an increase in the incidence of meningiomas over the period (APC = + 5.4%, 95%-CI: 3.8-7.0). The increased incidence rate of CNS tumors was more pronounced in female and in older patients even though the incidence rate increased in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Part of the temporal variation may be attributed to improvement in registration, diagnosis and clinical practices but also to changes in potential risk factors. Thus, etiological studies on CNS tumors are needed to clarify this rising trend

Staircase array of inclined refractive multi-lenses for large field of view pixel super-resolution scanning transmission hard X-ray microscopy

Owing to the development of X‐ray focusing optics during the past decades, synchrotron‐based X‐ray microscopy techniques allow the study of specimens with unprecedented spatial resolution, down to 10 nm, using soft and medium X‐ray photon energies, though at the expense of the field of view (FOV). One of the approaches to increase the FOV to square millimetres is raster‐scanning of the specimen using a single nanoprobe; however, this results in a long data acquisition time. This work employs an array of inclined biconcave parabolic refractive multi‐lenses (RMLs), fabricated by deep X‐ray lithography and electroplating to generate a large number of long X‐ray foci. Since the FOV is limited by the pattern height if a single RML is used by impinging X‐rays parallel to the substrate, many RMLs at regular intervals in the orthogonal direction were fabricated by tilted exposure. By inclining the substrate correspondingly to the tilted exposure, 378000 X‐ray line foci were generated with a length in the centimetre range and constant intervals in the sub‐micrometre range. The capability of this new X‐ray focusing device was first confirmed using ray‐tracing simulations and then using synchrotron radiation at BL20B2 of SPring‐8, Japan. Taking account of the fact that the refractive lens is effective for focusing high‐energy X‐rays, the experiment was performed with 35 keV X‐rays. Next, by scanning a specimen through the line foci, this device was used to perform large FOV pixel super‐resolution scanning transmission hard X‐ray microscopy (PSR‐STHXM) with a 780 ± 40 nm spatial resolution within an FOV of 1.64 cm × 1.64 cm (limited by the detector area) and a total scanning time of 4 min. Biomedical implant abutments fabricated via selective laser melting using Ti–6Al–4V medical alloy were measured by PSR‐STHXM, suggesting its unique potential for studying extended and thick specimens. Although the super‐resolution function was realized in one dimension in this study, it can be expanded to two dimensions by aligning a pair of presented devices orthogonally.A new X‐ray focusing device generates hundreds of thousands of line foci, periodically spaced in the sub‐micrometre range, with centimetre length. It enables to achieve large FOV pixel super‐resolution scanning transmission hard X‐ray microscopy. imag

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human macrophages as an infection model for Leishmania donovani.

The parasite Leishmania donovani is one of the species causing visceral leishmaniasis in humans, a deadly infection claiming up to 40,000 lives each year. The current drugs for leishmaniasis treatment have severe drawbacks and there is an urgent need to find new anti-leishmanial compounds. However, the search for drug candidates is complicated by the intracellular lifestyle of Leishmania. Here, we investigate the use of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS)-derived macrophages (iMACs) as host cells for L. donovani. iMACs obtained through embryoid body differentiation were infected with L. donovani promastigotes, and high-content imaging techniques were used to optimize the iMACs seeding density and multiplicity of infection, allowing us to reach infection rates up to 70% five days after infection. IC50 values obtained for miltefosine and amphotericin B using the infected iMACs or mouse peritoneal macrophages as host cells were comparable and in agreement with the literature, showing the potential of iMACs as an infection model for drug screening

Platelet Lysate for Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Culture in the Canine and Equine Species: Analogous but Not the Same

Simple Summary Regenerative medicine using platelet-based blood products or adult stem cells offers the prospect of better clinical outcomes with many diseases. In veterinary medicine, most progress has been made with the development and therapeutic use of these regenerative therapeutics in horses, but the clinical need is given in dogs as well. Our aim was to transfer previous advances in the development of horse regenerative therapeutics, specifically the use of platelet lysate for feeding stem cell cultures, to the dog. Here, we describe the scalable production of canine platelet lysate, which could be used in regenerative biological therapies. We also evaluated the canine platelet lysate for its suitability in feeding canine stem cell cultures in comparison to equine platelet lysate used for equine stem cell cultures. Platelet lysate production from canine blood was successful, but the platelet lysate did not support stem cell culture in dogs in the same beneficial way observed with the equine platelet lysate and stem cells. In conclusion, canine platelet lysate can be produced in large scales as described here, but further research is needed to improve the cultivation of canine stem cells. Abstract Platelet lysate (PL) is an attractive platelet-based therapeutic tool and has shown promise as xeno-free replacement for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in human and equine mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) culture. Here, we established a scalable buffy-coat-based protocol for canine PL (cPL) production (n = 12). The cPL was tested in canine adipose MSC (n = 5) culture compared to FBS. For further comparison, equine adipose MSC (n = 5) were cultured with analogous equine PL (ePL) or FBS. During canine blood processing, platelet and transforming growth factor-β1 concentrations increased (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001), while white blood cell concentrations decreased (p < 0.05). However, while equine MSC showed good results when cultured with 10% ePL, canine MSC cultured with 2.5% or 10% cPL changed their morphology and showed decreased metabolic activity (p < 0.05). Apoptosis and necrosis in canine MSC were increased with 2.5% cPL (p < 0.05). Surprisingly, passage 5 canine MSC showed less genetic aberrations after culture with 10% cPL than with FBS. Our data reveal that using analogous canine and equine biologicals does not entail the same results. The buffy-coat-based cPL was not adequate for canine MSC culture, but may still be useful for therapeutic applications

Telemedicine for preoperative assessment during a COVID-19 pandemic: Recommendations for clinical care

Limiting the spread of the disease is key to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes identifying people who have been exposed to COVID-19, minimizing patient contact, and enforcing strict hygiene measures. To prevent healthcare systems from becoming overburdened, elective and non-urgent medical procedures and treatments have been postponed, and primary health care has broadened to include virtual appointments via telemedicine. Although telemedicine precludes the physical examination of a patient, it allows collection of a range of information prior to a patient's admission, and may therefore be used in preoperative assessment. This new tool can be used to evaluate the severity and progression of the main disease, other comorbidities, and the urgency of the surgical treatment as well as preferencing anesthetic procedures. It can also be used for effective screening and triaging of patients with suspected or established COVID-19, thereby protecting other patients, clinicians and communities alike

A stress-response-related inter-compartmental signalling pathway regulates embryonic cuticle integrity in Arabidopsis.

The embryonic cuticle is necessary for normal seed development and seedling establishment in Arabidopsis. Although mutants with defective embryonic cuticles have been identified, neither the deposition of cuticle material, nor its regulation, has been described during embryogenesis. Here we use electron microscopy, cuticle staining and permeability assays to show that cuticle deposition initiates de novo in patches on globular embryos. By combining these techniques with genetics and gene expression analysis, we show that successful patch coalescence to form a continuous cuticle requires a signalling involving the endosperm-specific subtilisin protease ALE1 and the receptor kinases GSO1 and GSO2, which are expressed in the developing embryonic epidermis. Transcriptome analysis shows that this pathway regulates stress-related gene expression in seeds. Consistent with these findings we show genetically, and through activity analysis, that the stress-associated MPK6 protein acts downstream of GSO1 and GSO2 in the developing embryo. We propose that a stress-related signalling pathway has been hijacked in some angiosperm seeds through the recruitment of endosperm-specific components. Our work reveals the presence of an inter-compartmental dialogue between the endosperm and embryo that ensures the formation of an intact and functional cuticle around the developing embryo through an "auto-immune" type interaction