51 research outputs found

    Understanding MOOCs Through Connectivist and Social Constructivist Approaches

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    MOOCs - the promise of meeting the need of flexibility for the adult learner?

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    COSMOS-Europe: a European network of cosmic-ray neutron soil moisture sensors

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    [EN] Climate change increases the occurrence and severity of droughts due to increasing temperatures, altered circulation patterns, and reduced snow occurrence. While Europe has suffered from drought events in the last decade unlike ever seen since the beginning of weather recordings, harmonized long-term datasets across the continent are needed to monitor change and support predictions. Here we present soil moisture data from 66 cosmic-ray neutron sensors (CRNSs) in Europe (COSMOS-Europe for short) covering recent drought events. The CRNS sites are distributed across Europe and cover all major land use types and climate zones in Europe. The raw neutron count data from the CRNS stations were provided by 24 research institutions and processed using state-of-the-art methods. The harmonized processing included correction of the raw neutron counts and a harmonized methodology for the conversion into soil moisture based on available in situ information. In addition, the uncertainty estimate is provided with the dataset, information that is particularly useful for remote sensing and modeling applications. This paper presents the current spatiotemporal coverage of CRNS stations in Europe and describes the protocols for data processing from raw measurements to consistent soil moisture products. The data of the presented COSMOS-Europe network open up a manifold of potential applications for environmental research, such as remote sensing data validation, trend analysis, or model assimilation The dataset could be of particular importance for the analysis of extreme climatic events at the continental scale. Due its timely relevance in the scope of climate change in the recent years, we demonstrate this potential application with a brief analysis on the spatiotemporal soil moisture variability. The dataset, entitled "Dataset of COSMOS-Europe: A European network of Cosmic-Ray Neutron Soil Moisture Sensors", is shared via Forschungszentrum Julich: https://doi.org/10.34731/x9s3-kr48 (Bogena and Ney, 2021).We thank TERENO (Terrestrial Environmental Observatories), funded by the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft for the financing and maintenance of CRNS stations. We acknowledge financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) of the research unit FOR 2694 Cosmic Sense (grant no. 357874777) and by the German Federal Ministry of Education of the Research BiookonomieREVIER, Digitales Geosystem -Rheinisches Revier project (grant no. 031B0918A). COSMOS-UK has been supported financially by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. NE/R016429/1). The Olocau experimental watershed is partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the research project TETISCHANGE (grant no. RTI2018-093717-BI00). The Calderona experimental site is partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the research projects CEHYRFO-MED (grant no. CGL2017-86839C3-2-R) and SILVADAPT.NET (grant no. RED2018-102719-T) and the LIFE project RESILIENT FORESTS (grant no. LIFE17 CCA/ES/000063). The University of Bristol's Sheepdrove sites have been supported by the UK's Natural Environment Research Council through a number of projects (grant nos. NE/M003086/1, NE/R004897/1, and NE/T005645/1) and by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations (grant no. CRP D12014).Bogena, HR.; Schrön, M.; Jakobi, J.; Ney, P.; Zacharias, S.; Andreasen, M.; Baatz, R.... (2022). COSMOS-Europe: a European network of cosmic-ray neutron soil moisture sensors. Earth System Science Data. 14(3):1125-1151. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-20221125115114

    COSMOS-Europe : a European network of cosmic-ray neutron soil moisture sensors

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    We thank TERENO (Terrestrial Environmental Observatories), funded by the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft for the financing and maintenance of CRNS stations. We acknowledge financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) of the research unit FOR 2694 Cosmic Sense (grant no. 357874777) and by the German Federal Ministry of Education of the Research BioökonomieREVIER, Digitales Geosystem – Rheinisches Revier project (grant no. 031B0918A). COSMOS-UK has been supported financially by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (grant no. NE/R016429/1). The Olocau experimental watershed is partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the research project TETISCHANGE (grant no. RTI2018-093717-BI00). The Calderona experimental site is partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the research projects CEHYRFO-MED (grant no. CGL2017-86839- C3-2-R) and SILVADAPT.NET (grant no. RED2018-102719-T) and the LIFE project RESILIENT FORESTS (grant no. LIFE17 CCA/ES/000063). The University of Bristol’s Sheepdrove sites have been supported by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council through a number of projects (grant nos. NE/M003086/1, NE/R004897/1, and NE/T005645/1) and by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations (grant no. CRP D12014). Acknowledgements. We thank Peter Strauss and Gerhab Rab from the Institute for Land and Water Management Research, Federal Agency for Water Management Austria, Petzenkirchen, Austria. We thank Trenton Franz from the School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States. We also thank Carmen Zengerle, Mandy Kasner, Felix Pohl, and Solveig Landmark, UFZ Leipzig, for supporting field calibration, lab analysis, and data processing. We furthermore thank Daniel Dolfus, Marius Schmidt, Ansgar Weuthen, and Bernd Schilling, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. The COSMOS-UK project team is thanked for making its data available to COSMOS-Europe. Luca Stevanato is thanked for the technical details about the Finapp sensor. The stations at Cunnersdorf, Lindenberg, and Harzgerode have been supported by Falk Böttcher, Frank Beyrich, and Petra Fude, German Weather Service (DWD). The Zerbst site has been supported by Getec Green Energy GmbH and Jörg Kachelmann (Meteologix AG). The CESBIO sites have been supported by the CNES TOSCA program. The ERA5-Land data are provided by ECMWF (Muñoz Sabater, 2021). The Jena dataset was retrieved at the site of The Jena Experiment, operated by DFG research unit FOR 1451.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Comparative analysis of novel and conventional Hsp90 inhibitors on HIF activity and angiogenic potential in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: implications for clinical evaluation

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Perturbing Hsp90 chaperone function targets hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) function in a von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) independent manner, and represents an approach to combat the contribution of HIF to cell renal carcinoma (CCRCC) progression. However, clinical trials with the prototypic Hsp90 inhibitor 17-AAG have been unsuccessful in halting the progression of advanced CCRCC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here we evaluated a novel next generation small molecule Hsp90 inhibitor, EC154, against HIF isoforms and HIF-driven molecular and functional endpoints. The effects of EC154 were compared to those of the prototypic Hsp90 inhibitor 17-AAG and the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor LBH589.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The findings indicate that EC154 is a potent inhibitor of HIF, effective at doses 10-fold lower than 17-AAG. While EC154, 17-AAG and the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor LBH589 impaired HIF transcriptional activity, CCRCC cell motility, and angiogenesis; these effects did not correlate with their ability to diminish HIF protein expression. Further, our results illustrate the complexity of HIF targeting, in that although these agents suppressed HIF transcripts with differential dynamics, these effects were not predictive of drug efficacy in other relevant assays.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We provide evidence for EC154 targeting of HIF in CCRCC and for LBH589 acting as a suppressor of both HIF-1 and HIF-2 activity. We also demonstrate that 17-AAG and EC154, but not LBH589, can restore endothelial barrier function, highlighting a potentially new clinical application for Hsp90 inhibitors. Finally, given the discordance between HIF activity and protein expression, we conclude that HIF expression is not a reliable surrogate for HIF activity. Taken together, our findings emphasize the need to incorporate an integrated approach in evaluating Hsp90 inhibitors within the context of HIF suppression.</p
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