Katsaus polttotaisteluaineisiin ja -välineisiin sekä polttosuojeluun

Artikkelin alussa luodaan historiallinen katsaus tulen käyttöön taistelussa, mutta artikkelin tarkoituksena on esittää "koottuna niitä tietoja polttotaisteluaineista, polttotaisteluvälineistä ja polttosuojelusta, mitä tuoreimmista kirjallisista lähteistä on löytynyt". Ensimmäisessä luvussa esitellään polttotaisteluaineet, käsitellen ensin napalm, sen kehitys, käytössä olevat napalmit, napalmin ominaisuudet sekä napalmhyytelön valmistaminen kenttäoloissa. Muista polttotaisteluaineista esitellään ominaisuudet ja käyttötarkoituksia. Esittelyssä ovat valkoinen fosfori, magnesium ja termiitti sekä eräitä muita apuaineita.Toisessa luvussa, "Polttotaisteluvälineet", esitellään napalmpommin kehitysvaiheita, pommin rakennetta ja sen vaikutuksia. Lisäksi esitellään magnesiumpommin rakenne ja toimintaperiaate esimerkkinä muiden polttotaisteluaineiden käyttövälineenä. Luvun lopussa esitellään erilaisia kevyitä ja ajoneuvoasenteisia liekinheittimiä ominaisuuksineen sekä taistelukentällä rakennettavia polttotaisteluvälineitä. Kolmas luku käsittelee polttosuojelua. Siinä käsitellään ensin joukkokohtaisen polttosuojelun eri tekijöitä, kuten koulutusta, suojautumista ja sammutustoimintaa. Luvun lopussa tarkastellaan omakohtaista polttosuojelua; suojautumista ja ensiapua. Yhdistelmässä muun muassa todetaan, että kynnys polttotaisteluvälineiden käyttöön on matalammalla, kuin ydinaseen ja taistelukaasujen käyttö, joten niiden käyttöön on syytä varautua. There is summary in English at the end of the article

Moderate and heavy metabolic stress interval training improve arterial stiffness and heart rate dynamics in humans

Traditional continuous aerobic exercise training attenuates age-related increases of arterial stiffness, however, training studies have not determined whether metabolic stress impacts these favourable effects. Twenty untrained healthy participants (n = 11 heavy metabolic stress interval training, n = 9 moderate metabolic stress interval training) completed 6 weeks of moderate or heavy intensity interval training matched for total work and exercise duration. Carotid artery stiffness, blood pressure contour analysis, and linear and non-linear heart rate variability were assessed before and following training. Overall, carotid arterial stiffness was reduced (p  0.05). This study demonstrates the effectiveness of interval training at improving arterial stiffness and autonomic function, however, the metabolic stress was not a mediator of this effect. In addition, these changes were also independent of improvements in aerobic capacity, which were only induced by training that involved a high metabolic stress

Optimal stomatal behaviour around the world

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recordStomatal conductance (g s) is a key land-surface attribute as it links transpiration, the dominant component of global land evapotranspiration, and photosynthesis, the driving force of the global carbon cycle. Despite the pivotal role of g s in predictions of global water and carbon cycle changes, a global-scale database and an associated globally applicable model of g s that allow predictions of stomatal behaviour are lacking. Here, we present a database of globally distributed g s obtained in the field for a wide range of plant functional types (PFTs) and biomes. We find that stomatal behaviour differs among PFTs according to their marginal carbon cost of water use, as predicted by the theory underpinning the optimal stomatal model and the leaf and wood economics spectrum. We also demonstrate a global relationship with climate. These findings provide a robust theoretical framework for understanding and predicting the behaviour of g s across biomes and across PFTs that can be applied to regional, continental and global-scale modelling of ecosystem productivity, energy balance and ecohydrological processes in a future changing climate.This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC MIA Discovery Project 1433500-2012-14). A.R. was financially supported in part by The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments (NGEE-Arctic) project, which is supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the Department of Energy, Office of Science, and through the United States Department of Energy contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 to Brookhaven National Laboratory. M.O.d.B. acknowledges that the Brassica data were obtained within a research project financed by the Belgian Science Policy (OFFQ, contract number SD/AF/02) and coordinated by K. Vandermeiren at the Open-Top Chamber research facilities of CODA-CERVA (Tervuren, Belgium)

Anticancer activity of the protein kinase C modulator HMI-1a3 in 2D and 3D cell culture models of androgen-responsive and androgen-unresponsive prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. Although it has a relatively high 5-year survival rate, development of resistance to standard androgen-deprivation therapy is a significant clinical problem. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The protein kinase C (PKC) family is a putative prostate cancer drug target, but so far no PKC-targeting drugs are available for clinical use. By contrast to the standard approach of developing PKC inhibitors, we have developed isophthalate derivatives as PKC agonists. In this study, we have characterized the effects of the most potent isophthalate, 5-(hydroxymethyl) isophthalate 1a3 (HMI-1a3), on three prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, DU145, and PC3) using both 2D and 3D cell culture models. In 2D cell culture, HMI-1a3 reduced cell viability or proliferation in all cell lines as determined by the metabolic activity of the cells (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay) and thymidine incorporation. However, the mechanism of action in LNCaP cells was different to that in DU145 or PC3 cells. In LNCaP cells, HMI-1a3 induced a PKC-dependent activation of caspase 3/7, indicating an apoptotic response, whereas in DU145 and PC3 cells, it induced senescence, which was independent of PKC. This was observed as typical senescent morphology, increased beta-galactosidase activity, and upregulation of the senescence marker p21 and downregulation of E2F transcription factor 1. Using a multicellular spheroid model, we further showed that HMI-1a3 affects the growth of LNCaP and DU145 cells in a 3D culture, emphasizing its potential as a lead compound for cancer drug development.Peer reviewe

Brain structural concomitants of resting state heart rate variability in the young and old: evidence from two independent samples

Previous research has shown associations between brain structure and resting state high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). Age affects both brain structure and HF-HRV. Therefore we sought to examine the relationship between brain structure and HF-HRV as a function of age. Data from two independent studies were used for the present analysis. Study 1 included 19 older adults (10 male, age range 62-78 years) and 19 younger adults (12 male, age range 19-37). Study 2 included 23 older adults (13 males; age range 55-75) and 27 younger adults (19 males; age range 18-34). The rootmean- square of successive R-R-interval differences (RMSSD) from ECG recordings was used as timedomain measure of HF-HRV. MRI scans were performed on a 3.0-T Siemens Magnetom Trio scanner. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with the Freesurfer image analysis suite, including 12 regions as regions-of-interests (ROI). Zero-order and partial correlations were used to assess the correlation of RMSSD with cortical thickness in selected ROIs. Lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) cortical thickness was significantly associated with RMSSD. Further, both studies, in line with previous research, showed correlations between RMSSD and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) cortical thickness. Meta-analysis on adjusted correlation coefficients from individual studies confirmed an association of RMSSD with the left rostral ACC and the left lateral OFC. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to trace individual trajectories in the association of HRV and brain structure across aging

The danger of mapping risk from multiple natural hazards

In recent decades, society has been greatly affected by natural disasters (e.g. floods, droughts, earthquakes), losses and effects caused by these disasters have been increasing. Conventionally, risk assessment focuses on individual hazards, but the importance of addressing multiple hazards is now recognised. Two approaches exist to assess risk from multiple-hazards; the risk index (addressing hazards, and the exposure and vulnerability of people or property at risk) and the mathematical statistics method (which integrates observations of past losses attributed to each hazard type). These approaches have not previously been compared. Our application of both to China clearly illustrates their inconsistency. For example, from 31 Chinese provinces assessed for multi-hazard risk, Gansu and Sichuan provinces are at low risk of life loss with the risk index approach, but high risk using the mathematical statistics approach. Similarly, Tibet is identified as being at almost the highest risk of economic loss using the risk index, but lowest risk under the mathematical statistics approach. Such inconsistency should be recognised if risk is to be managed effectively, whilst the practice of multi-hazard risk assessment needs to incorporate the relative advantages of both approaches

Protein kinase C-activating isophthalate derivatives mitigate Alzheimer's disease-related cellular alterations

Abnormal protein kinase C (PKC) function contributes to many pathophysiological processes relevant for Alzheimer's disease (AD), such as amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing. Phorbol esters and other PKC activators have been demonstrated to enhance the secretion of soluble APP alpha (sAPP alpha), reduce the levels of beta-amyloid (A beta), induce synaptogenesis, and promote neuroprotection. We have previously described isophthalate derivatives as a structurally simple family of PKC activators. Here, we characterised the effects of isophthalate derivatives HMI-1a3 and HMI-1b11 on neuronal viability, neuroinflammatory response, processing of APP and dendritic spine density and morphology in in vitro. HMI-1a3 increased the viability of embryonic primary cortical neurons and decreased the production of the pro-inflammatory mediator TNF alpha, but not that of nitric oxide, in mouse neuron-BV2 microglia co-cultures upon LPS- and IFN-gamma-induced neuroinflammation. Furthermore, both HMI-1a3 and HMI-1b11 increased the levels of sAPPa relative to total sAPP and the ratio of A beta 42/A beta 40 in human SH-Sv5v neuroblastoma cells. Finally, bryostatin-1, but not HMI-1a3, increased the number of mushroom spines in proportion to total spine density in mature mouse hippocampal neuron cultures. These results suggest that the PKC activator HMI-1a3 exerts neuroprotective functions in the in vitro models relevant for AD by reducing the production of TNF alpha and increasing the secretion of neuroprotective sAPPa.Peer reviewe

Missing Selectivity of Targeted 4 beta-Phorbol Prodrugs Expected to be Potential Chemotherapeutics

Targeting cytotoxic 4 beta-phorbol esters toward cancer tissue was attempted by conjugating a 4 beta-pborbol derivative with substrates for the proteases prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expressed in cancer tissue. The hydrophilic peptide moiety was hypothesized to prevent penetration of the prodrugs into cells and prevent interaction with PKC. Cleavage of the peptide in cancer tumors was envisioned to release lipophilic cytotoxins, which subsequently penetrate into cancer cells. The 4 beta-phorbol esters were prepared from 4 beta-phorbol isolated from Croton tiglium seeds, while the peptides were prepared by solid-phase synthesis. Cellular assays revealed activation of PKC by the prodrugs and efficient killing of both peptidase positive as well as peptidase negative cells. Consequently no selectivity for enzyme expressing cells was found.Peer reviewe