Modelling the gastric epithelium for testing of new chemical entities

A cell culture model of the gastric epithelial cell surface would prove useful for biopharmaceutical screening of new chemical entities and dosage forms. A successful model should exhibit tight junction formation, maintenance of differentiation and polarity. Conditions for primary culture of guinea-pig gastric mucous epithelial cell monolayers on Tissue Culture Plastic (TCP) and membrane insects (Transwells) were established. Tight junction formation for cells grown on Transwells for three days was assessed by measurement of transepithelial resistance (TEER) and permeability of mannitol and fluorescein. Coating the polycarbonate filter with collagen IV, rather with collagen I, enhanced tight junction formation. TEER for cells grown on Transwells coated with collagen IV was close to that obtained with intact guinea-pig gastric epithelium in vitro. Differentiation was assessed by incorporation of [3H] glucosamine into glycoprotein and by activity of NADPH oxidase, which produces superoxide. Both of these measures were greater for cells grown on filters coated with collagen I than for cells grown on TCP, but no major difference was found between cells grown on collagens I and IV. However, monolayers grown on membranes coated with collagen IV exhibited apically polarized secretion of mucin and superoxide. The proportion of cells, which stained positively for mucin with periodic Schiff reagent, was greater than 95% for all culture conditions. Gastric epithelial monolayers grown on Transwells coated with collagen IV were able to withstand transient (30 min) apical acidification to pH 3, which was associated with a decrease in [3H] mannitol flux and an increase in TEER relative to pH 7.4. The model was used to provide the first direct demonstration that an NSAID (indomethacin) accumulated in gastric epithelial cells exposed to low apical pH. In conclusion, guinea-pig epithelial cells cultured on collagen IV represent a promising model of the gastric surface epithelium suitable for screening procedures

Atlantic Multidecadal Variability: Surface and Subsurface Thermohaline Structure and Hydroclimate Impacts

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), a sea surface temperature mode of natural variability with dominant timescales of 30 -70 years and largest variations centered on the northern North Atlantic latitudes is one of the principal climate signals that have earned considerable attention in the recent decades, due to its multilateral impact on both local and remote weather and climate and its importance in predicting extreme events, such as drought development over North America. A 3-dimensional structure of the AMO is constructed based on observations and coupled, ocean-atmosphere 20th century climate simulations. The evolution of modeled, decadal-to-multidecadal variability and its hydroclimate impact is also investigated between two successive model versions participating in the CMIP3 and CMIP5 projects. It is found that both model versions underestimate low frequency variability in the 70-80 and 30-40 year ranges, while overestimating variability in higher frequencies (10-20 year range). In addition, no significant improvements are noted in the simulation of AMO's hydroclimate impact. A subsurface, vertically integrated heat content index (0-1000m) is proposed in an effort to capture the thermal state of the ocean and to understand the origin of AMO variability, especially its surface-subsurface link on decadal- to- multidecadal timescales in the North Atlantic basin. The AMO-HC index exhibits stronger oscillatory behavior and shorter timescales in comparison to the AMO-SST index, while leading the latter by about 5 years. A cooling of the North Atlantic subsurface is discernible in the recent years (mid-2000s -present), a feature that is almost absent at the ocean surface and could have tremendous implications in predicting future North Atlantic climate and in relation to the recent hiatus in the rise of global surface temperatures that was noted in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report. Finally, AMO's decadal variability is shown linked to Gulf Stream's northward surges and the low-frequency NAO, as envisioned by Vinhelm Bjerknes in 1964. A cycle encompassing the low-frequency NAO, Gulf Stream's poleward excursions and the associated shifts in surface winds and SSTs over the subpolar North Atlantic is proposed as a possible mechanism for AMO's origin and a principal target for future research

Ο εναλλακτικός και ο έμμεσος τρόπος προσδιορισμού του εισοδήματος στον ν.4172/2013

Αντικείμενο της εργασίας είναι η εξέταση των περιπτώσεων εκείνων κατά τις οποίες η φορολογική Αρχή προσδιορίζει εισόδημα και ενδεχομένως καταλογίζει φόρο επί εισοδήματος όχι αποδεδειγμένα υπαρκτού αλλά επί εισοδήματος προκύπτοντος βάσει ενδείξεων, δηλαδή τεκμαρτού. Εξετάζονται μόνο οι μέθοδοι προσδιορισμού του εισοδήματος που εφαρμόζονται ως σήμερα, και προβλέπονται στον ν. 4172/2013 (ΚΦΕ). Οι μέθοδοι αυτοί είναι τα τεκμήρια όπως προβλέπονται στα άρ. 30 έως 34 ΚΦΕ, η διάταξη για την προσαύξηση περιουσίας όπως προβλέπεται στο άρ. 21 ΚΦΕ και 39 ΚΦΔ και οι έμμεσες τεχνικές ελέγχου όπως προβλέπονται στο αρ. 28 ΚΦΕ και 27 ΚΦΔ. Πέραν της ανάλυσης των έμμεσων και εναλλακτικών μεθόδων προσδιορισμού του εισοδήματος ερευνάται η συνταγματικότητα των σχετικών διατάξεων, οι ομοιότητες και οι διαφορές τους, καθώς και η αλληλοσυμπληρούμενη ή η αλληλοαποκλειόμενη σχέση τους.The topic of this thesis is the examination of those cases in which the Tax Authority determines income and possibly charges a tax on income not proven real but on income arising on the basis of indirect evidence. Only the methods of determining the income that are applied until today are examined, and are provided in law 4172/2013 (ITC). These methods are the presumptions as provided in art. 30 to 34 ITC, the provision for the increase of property as provided in art. 21 ITC and 39 TPC and the indirect methods as provided in art. 28 ITC and 27 TPC.In addition to the analysis of indirect and alternative methods of determining income, the constitutionality of the relevant provisions, their similarities and differences, as well as their complementary or mutually exclusive relationship are investigated

Recent progress in understanding and predicting Atlantic decadal climate variability

Recent Atlantic climate prediction studies are an exciting new contribution to an extensive body of research on Atlantic decadal variability and predictability that has long emphasized the unique role of the Atlantic Ocean in modulating the surface climate. We present a survey of the foundations and frontiers in our understanding of Atlantic variability mechanisms, the role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), and our present capacity for putting that understanding into practice in actual climate prediction systems

Influence of ocean–atmospheric oscillations on lake ice phenology in eastern North America

Our results reveal long-term trends in ice out dates (1836–2013) for twelve lakes in Maine, New Brunswick and New Hampshire, in eastern North America. The trends are remarkably coherent between lakes (rs = 0.462–0.933, p < 0.01) and correlate closely with the March–April (MA) instrumental temperature records from the region (rs = 0.488–0.816, p < 0.01). This correlation permits use of ice out dates as a proxy to extend the shorter MA instrumental record (1876–2013). Mean ice out dates trended progressively earlier during the recovery from the Little Ice Age through to the 1940s, and gradually became later again through to the late 1970s, when ice out dates had returned to values more typical of the late nineteenth century. Post-1970’s ice out dates resumed trending toward earlier dates, with the twenty-first century being characterized by the earliest ice out dates on record. Spectral and wavelet time series analysis indicate that ice out is influenced by several teleconnections including the Quasi-biennial Oscillation, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, as well as a significant correlation between inland lake records and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. The relative influence of these teleconnections is variable with notable shifts occurring after ~1870, ~1925, and ~1980–2000. The intermittent expression of these cycles in the ice out and MA instrumental record is not only influenced by absolute changes in the intensity of the various teleconnections and other climate drivers, but through phase interference between teleconnections, which periodically damps the various signals

Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

This publication is the Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering from July 6-8, 2022. The EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering brings together international experts working on the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolution of challenges such as supporting multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways. &nbsp

Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering

This publication is the Proceedings of the 29th EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering from July 6-8, 2022. The EG-ICE International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering brings together international experts working on the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolution of challenges such as supporting multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways. &nbsp

Spatial Modeling of Decentralized Wastewater Infrastructure: The Case for Water Reuse and Nitrogen Recovery

Climate change and increasing patterns of drought throughout the world are challenging the effectiveness of conventional water systems. A growing population in conjunction with more extreme weather events, threatens water supply infrastructure and increases uncertainty about how utilities will meet demand without sacrificing water quality. This issue has recently manifested in California, prompting utilities to invest in alternative water sources as a means of ensuring that water infrastructure is resilient to climate change scenarios.Decentralized wastewater treatment is a promising option for increasing the sustainability of water infrastructure as it spatially merges supply and demand, minimizing large conveyance requirements. Decentralization can also promote nutrient management and recovery as it enables the source separation of the different wastewater sources. Specifically closing the nitrogen loop, by capturing it and reusing it to generate valuable high-end products can potentially improve the efficiency of the system and create revenue streams. However, smaller decentralized water treatment units are potentially more energy intensive and costly than their centralized alternatives per unit of water treated. Due to these efficiency tradeoffs, planning tools and frameworks for holistically assessing decentralized water treatment systems need to be developed to optimally manage the new urban water supply paradigm. Better data management and data-driven decision support tools can provide valuable insight on the benefits and impacts of implementing future water systems.This research assesses the technical performance of emerging decentralized technologies and implementation scenarios for residential uses, by assessing the feasibility of integrating decentralized facilities in cities with existing wastewater infrastructure. This work aims to create algorithmic models that integrate the spatial design of a wastewater treatment and distribution network with a life-cycle assessment to determine the associated environmental impacts. This dissertation utilizes spatial modeling to contextually evaluate the implementation and distribution potential and uses a life-cycle assessment approach to provide an extensive analysis of all the life-cycle impacts. By incorporating environmental indicators and metrics, a planning support framework can be created to help guide the water industry towards smart investments for a less energy-intensive future. Specifically, this work will 1) investigate how spatial terrain variability, demographics and distribution affect the performance of decentralized water treatment systems, 2) analyze the major parameters that affect the energy intensity, cost and greenhouse gas emissions of these systems, 3) quantify the unit processes that mostly impact the prementioned metrics and 4) identify the optimal system scale for decentralized infrastructure implementation under various spatial and demographic conditions.The insights from this dissertation can help wastewater researchers and practitioners understand the complex relationships between the system scale and system performance. By evaluating the potential benefits and tradeoffs, this work can lead to management tools that will help transition away from traditional water management and create a water supply that (1) is resilient to changes in climate, (2) uses local water sources, and (3) leaves more water in natural ecosystems. This dissertation further adds to the growing body of literature on decentralized wastewater treatment assessing optimal scales, reuse potential, resource recovery and sewerage connections to investigate key factors affecting future implementation