Water vapor sorption dynamics in different compressions of eelgrass insulation

Eelgrass shows potential in meeting the rising demands towards new, sustainable materials. It hosts a range of characteristics that benefits its application as a building material, such as thermal and acoustic insulating properties that can compete with conventional mineral wool insulation. However, as a porous bio-based building material, the moisture performance of eelgrass must be assessed to ensure its practical application. In this study, experimental investigations are conducted by a new automated vapor sorption analyzer (VSA) to measure adsorption and desorption of water vapor on different compressions of eelgrass insulation, ranging from loose strands to densely compacted insulation batts. Overall, higher sorption dynamics are observed in eelgrass insulation compared to conventional mineral wool insulation. Loose strands of eelgrass depict higher dynamics (including hysteresis) for the full range of relative humidity in comparison to insulation batts, potentially due to additional binder. Increasing the compression of eelgrass insulation batts results in lower sorption dynamics in the >70% relative humidity range. A Guggenheim-Anderson-deBoer model is applied that shows good fit with the experimental data and may be applied in moisture transfer calculations. This study furthers the potential of compressing eelgrass for application in passive design strategies through its moisture buffering capabilities

Digitalisering af undervisningen i almen patologi

Patologi er læren om sygdommes manifestationer i væv og celler, herunder sygdommes årsager og mekanismer, og er en central del af undervisningen på en lang række studier om menneskers og dyrs sygdomme. Imod slutningen af 00’erne kom de første præparatscannere til Danmark, og for faget almen patologi på Københavns Universitet blev dette udnyttet til at forbedre og modernisere undervisningen. Faget baserer nu sin undervisning på digitalisering og anvendelse af digitale medier, og både undervisning og eksamen i vævs- og celleforandringer foregår nu med digitale hjælpemidler. I løbet af de sidste fem år er alle vævspræparater digitaliserede, og sideløbende hermed er den elektroniske platform for faget blevet udbygget. Fagets egne forelæsninger videooptages og streames, forelæsninger udført af internationalt anerkendte undervisere på udenlandske universiteter transmitteres live, og en patologi-blog øger studerendes adgang til underviserne. Til selvstudium udvikles multiple choice-tests baseret på mikroskopipræparater samt korte filmklip, der gennemgår mikroskopiforandringerne. Digitale spørgeskemaer har vist, at disse tiltag har forbedret undervisningen og øget studentertilfredsheden ganske betydeligt. Denne oversigtsartikel vil præsentere de digitale tiltag og deres betydning for undervisningen i patologi på Københavns Universitet

Type I interferon-activated microglia are critical for neuromyelitis optica pathology

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) most frequently mediated by serum autoantibodies against the water channel aquaporin 4, expressed on CNS astrocytes, resulting in primary astrocytopathy. There is no cure for NMO, and treatment with Type I interferon (IFNI)-IFN beta is ineffective or even detrimental. We have previously shown that both NMO lesions and associated microglial activation were reduced in mice lacking the receptor for IFN beta. However, the role of microglia in NMO is not well understood. In this study, we clarify the pathomechanism for IFNI dependence of and the role of microglia in experimental NMO. Transcriptome analysis showed a strong IFNI footprint in affected CNS tissue as well as in microglial subpopulations. Treatment with IFN beta led to exacerbated pathology and further microglial activation as evidenced by expansion of a CD11c(+) subset of microglia. Importantly, depletion of microglia led to suppression of pathology and decrease of IFNI signature genes. Our data show a pro-pathologic role for IFNI-activated microglia in NMO and open new perspectives for microglia-targeted therapies

Cancer Risk following Residential Exposure to Airborne Polychlorinated Biphenyls:A Danish Register-Based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are biopersistent chemicals classified as human carcinogens. This classification is primarily based on evidence on higher-chlorinated PCBs found in food. The carcinogenic potential of airborne lower-chlorinated PCBs remains largely unexplored. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate cancer risk following residential exposure to airborne PCBs. METHODS: Cancer risk was examined in the Health Effects of PCBs in Indoor Air (HESPAIR) cohort of 38,613 residents of two partly PCB-contaminated residential areas in Greater Copenhagen, identified by nationwide registries. PCB exposure was based on relocation dates and indoor air PCB measurements in subsets of apartments. Cancer diagnoses were extracted from the Danish Cancer Registry for the follow-up period of 1970–2018. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios with time-varying cumulative exposure and a 10-y lag using Cox regression. RESULTS: Overall risk of cancer was not associated with [Formula: see text] , [hazard ratio (HR) for high-exposed vs. low-exposed [Formula: see text]; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88, 1.09], but residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] had higher risk of liver cancer (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 1.28, 6.15) and meningiomas (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 1.84, 6.64), with indications of exposure–response relationships. Results were suggestive of a higher risk of pancreatic cancer (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 0.95, 2.64) at the highest aggregated PCB level. For testis cancer, a higher risk was observed among residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] relative to residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] (HR [Formula: see text]; 95% CI: 1.41, 6.28), but the risk was not higher for residents exposed to [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]. Apart from this, the risk of specific cancers was similar across exposure groups. DISCUSSION: In this, to our knowledge, first population-based cohort study of residential exposure to airborne PCBs, we found no association between exposure to PCBs in indoor air in private homes and the risk for most of the specific cancers. Higher risk of liver cancer and meningiomas were observed. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1060

Innovative Material Can Mimic Coral and Boulder Reefs Properties

Low-Voltage Mineral Deposition technology (LVMD), widely known as Biorock, has previously been suggested as support for coral reef restoration, as hypothesized high porosity, wide pore-size distribution and connectivity, and good strength properties may facilitate biological functions (for example larvae settlement) and durability. In this technology, very low voltage induces an electrical current that initiates precipitation and accretion of hard minerals (aragonite and calcite) on a metal in seawater. This technology has been discussed mainly for its biological value, while this paper wants to highlight also its engineering value as artificial reef material. Indeed, some of the properties that makes it valuable in one domain are also supporting its use in the other. Because the metal on which the precipitation takes place can be of any shape and size, so can the artificial reef and its mechanical strength characteristics are above the ones of corals and similar to concrete, indicating adequate durability. Coral and boulder reefs suffering from degradation have severe implications on biodiversity, protection from flooding, and cultural value and therefore understanding how to persevere and re-establish these ecosystems is central for sustainable intervention in the marine environment. By comparing chemical-physical characteristics of Coral Porites Exoskeleton (CPE), one typical reef building coral type, LVMD and High-Voltage Mineral Deposition (HVMD), we show that they possess highly similar properties including chemical composition, density, total porosity, pore-size distribution, physical and chemical heterogeneity, total and external surface areas, and comparable mechanical strength