General Aviation Weather Encounter Case Studies

This study presents a compilation of 24 cases involving general aviation (GA) pilots’ weather encounters over the continental U.S. The project team interviewed pilots who had experienced a weather encounter, and we examined their backgrounds, flight experience, and weather encounter details. Results from meteorological data analysis for each weather encounter were consistent with findings of larger GA weather accident studies in terms of the types of hazards encountered and flight phase during which the encounters occurred. Investigation of pilot weather products and the sources from which they were obtained revealed a lack of uniformity of pre-flight data sources and underutilization of available en route flight information services. The team used these results to develop a set of pilot weather education and training recommendations intended to reduce the number and severity of weather encounters

Fetal Testosterone Predicts Sexually Differentiated Childhood Behavior in Girls and in Boys

ABSTRACT—Mammals, including humans, show sex differences in juvenile play behavior. In rodents and nonhuman primates, these behavioral sex differences result, in part, from sex differences in androgens during early development. Girls exposed to high levels of androgen prenatally, because of the genetic disorder congenital adrenal hyperplasia, show increased male-typical play, suggesting similar hormonal influences on human development, at least in females. Here, we report that fetal testosterone measured from amniotic fluid relates positively to male-typical scores on a standardized questionnaire measure of sextypical play in both boys and girls. These results show, for the first time, a link between fetal testosterone and the development of sex-typical play in children from the general population, and are the first data linking high levels of prenatal testosterone to increased male-typical play behavior in boys. Sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain occurs under the control of gonadal hormones, particularly androgens, during early development (De Vries & Simerly, 2002; Ehrhardt &amp

Airway dilation in bronchiolitis obliterans after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

SummaryRationaleBronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is a late, non-infectious pulmonary complication following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). There is minimal data published on quantitative radiologic characterization of airway remodeling in these subjects.ObjectivesTo examine quantitative measurements of airway morphology and their correlation with lung function in a cohort of patients who underwent HSCT and developed BOS.MethodsAll adult patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital (n = 1854) between January 1st 2000 and June 30th 2010 were screened for the development of BOS. Clinically acquired high resolution CT (HRCT) scans of the chest were collected. For each subjects discrete measures of airway wall area were performed and the square root of wall area of a 10-mm luminal perimeter (Pi10) was calculated.Measurements and main resultsWe identified 88 cases of BOS, and 37 of these patients had available HRCT. On CT scans obtained after BOS diagnosis, the Pi10 decreased (consistent with airway dilation) as compared with pre-BOS values (p < 0.001). After HSCT the Pi10 correlated with FEV1% predicted (r = 0.636, p < 0.0001), and RV/TLC% predicted (r = −0.736, p < 0.0001), even after adjusting for age, sex and total lung capacity (p < 0.0001 for both).ConclusionsOn HRCT scan BOS is characterized by central airway dilation, the degree of which is correlated to decrements in lung function. This is opposite of what has been previously demonstrated in COPD and asthma that quantitative measure of proximal airway wall thickening directly correlate with pulmonary function. Our data suggests that the pathologic process affecting the central airways is different from the pathology observed in the distal airways. Further work is needed to determine if such change can be used as a sensitive and specific tool for the future diagnosis and staging of BOS

Integrating Murine Gene Expression Studies to Understand Obstructive Lung Disease due to Chronic Inhaled Endotoxin

Rationale: Endotoxin is a near ubiquitous environmental exposure that that has been associated with both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These obstructive lung diseases have a complex pathophysiology, making them difficult to study comprehensively in the context of endotoxin. Genome-wide gene expression studies have been used to identify a molecular snapshot of the response to environmental exposures. Identification of differentially expressed genes shared across all published murine models of chronic inhaled endotoxin will provide insight into the biology underlying endotoxin-associated lung disease. Methods: We identified three published murine models with gene expression profiling after repeated low-dose inhaled endotoxin. All array data from these experiments were re-analyzed, annotated consistently, and tested for shared genes found to be differentially expressed. Additional functional comparison was conducted by testing for significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes in known pathways. The importance of this gene signature in smoking-related lung disease was assessed using hierarchical clustering in an independent experiment where mice were exposed to endotoxin, smoke, and endotoxin plus smoke. Results: A 101-gene signature was detected in three murine models, more than expected by chance. The three model systems exhibit additional similarity beyond shared genes when compared at the pathway level, with increasing enrichment of inflammatory pathways associated with longer duration of endotoxin exposure. Genes and pathways important in both asthma and COPD were shared across all endotoxin models. Mice exposed to endotoxin, smoke, and smoke plus endotoxin were accurately classified with the endotoxin gene signature. Conclusions: Despite the differences in laboratory, duration of exposure, and strain of mouse used in three experimental models of chronic inhaled endotoxin, surprising similarities in gene expression were observed. The endotoxin component of tobacco smoke may play an important role in disease development

The Human Disease Ontology 2022 update.

The Human Disease Ontology (DO) (www.disease-ontology.org) database, has significantly expanded the disease content and enhanced our userbase and website since the DO\u27s 2018 Nucleic Acids Research DATABASE issue paper. Conservatively, based on available resource statistics, terms from the DO have been annotated to over 1.5 million biomedical data elements and citations, a 10× increase in the past 5 years. The DO, funded as a NHGRI Genomic Resource, plays a key role in disease knowledge organization, representation, and standardization, serving as a reference framework for multiscale biomedical data integration and analysis across thousands of clinical, biomedical and computational research projects and genomic resources around the world. This update reports on the addition of 1,793 new disease terms, a 14% increase of textual definitions and the integration of 22 137 new SubClassOf axioms defining disease to disease connections representing the DO\u27s complex disease classification. The DO\u27s updated website provides multifaceted etiology searching, enhanced documentation and educational resources

Folliculin regulates cell–cell adhesion, AMPK, and mTORC1 in a cell‐type‐specific manner in lung‐derived cells

Abstract Germline loss‐of‐function BHD mutations cause cystic lung disease and hereditary pneumothorax, yet little is known about the impact of BHD mutations in the lung. Folliculin (FLCN), the product of the Birt–Hogg–Dube (BHD) gene, has been linked to altered cell–cell adhesion and to the AMPK and mTORC1 signaling pathways. We found that downregulation of FLCN in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells decreased the phosphorylation of ACC, a marker of AMPK activation, while downregulation of FLCN in small airway epithelial (SAEC) cells increased the activity of phospho‐S6, a marker of mTORC1 activation, highlighting the cell type–dependent functions of FLCN. Cell–cell adhesion forces were significantly increased in FLCN‐deficient HBE cells, consistent with prior findings in FLCN‐deficient human kidney‐derived cells. To determine how these altered cell–cell adhesion forces impact the lung, we exposed mice with heterozygous inactivation of Bhd (similarly to humans with germline inactivation of one BHD allele) to mechanical ventilation at high tidal volumes. Bhd+/− mice exhibited a trend (P = 0.08) toward increased elastance after 6 h of ventilation at 24 cc/kg. Our results indicate that FLCN regulates the AMPK and mTORC1 pathways and cell–cell adhesion in a cell type–dependent manner. FLCN deficiency may impact the physiologic response to inflation‐induced mechanical stress, but further investigation is required. We hypothesize that FLCN‐dependent effects on signaling and cellular adhesion contribute to the pathogenesis of cystic lung disease in BHD patients

Inflammasome activation in neutrophils of patients with severe COVID-19

© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Aymonnier, K., Ng, J., Fredenburgh, L. E., Zambrano-Vera, K., Muenzer, P., Gutch, S., Fukui, S., Desjardins, M., Subramaniam, M., Baron, R. M., Raby, B. A., Perrella, M. A., Lederer, J. A., & Wagner, D. D. Inflammasome activation in neutrophils of patients with severe COVID-19. Blood Advances, 6(7), (2022): 2001–2013, https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2021005949.Infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) engages the inflammasome in monocytes and macrophages and leads to the cytokine storm in COVID-19. Neutrophils, the most abundant leukocytes, release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Our recent study shows that activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is important for NET release in sterile inflammation. However, the role of neutrophil inflammasome formation in human disease is unknown. We hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 infection may induce inflammasome activation in neutrophils. We also aimed to assess the localization of inflammasome formation (ie, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD [ASC] speck assembly) and timing relative to NETosis in stimulated neutrophils by real-time video microscopy. Neutrophils isolated from severe COVID-19 patients demonstrated that ∼2% of neutrophils in both the peripheral blood and tracheal aspirates presented ASC speck. ASC speck was observed in neutrophils with an intact poly-lobulated nucleus, suggesting early formation during neutrophil activation. Additionally, 40% of nuclei were positive for citrullinated histone H3, and there was a significant correlation between speck formation and nuclear histone citrullination. Time-lapse microscopy in lipopolysaccharide -stimulated neutrophils from fluorescent ASC reporter mice showed that ASC speck formed transiently and at the microtubule organizing center long before NET release. Our study shows that ASC speck is present in neutrophils from COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and that it forms early in NETosis. Our findings suggest that inhibition of neutrophil inflammasomes may be beneficial in COVID-19.P.M. received an Individual Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellowship by the European Commission (796365 - COAGULANT). This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/Research Program Award grant R35 HL135765 (D.W.), by the NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant T32 HL007633-35 (J.N.), and by the NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant U01AI138318 (J.L and M.P); by the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR) Evergrande COVID‐19 Response Fund Award to B.R.; and by a generous gift to D.W. from the Steven Berzin family

Enduring Mental Health Morbidity and Social Function Impairment in World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery, and Cleanup Workers: The Psychological Dimension of an Environmental Health Disaster

Background The World Trade Center (WTC) attacks exposed thousands of workers to hazardous environmental conditions and psychological trauma. In 2002, to assess the health of these workers, Congress directed the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to establish the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. This program has established a large cohort of WTC rescue, recovery, and cleanup workers. We previously documented extensive pulmonary dysfunction in this cohort related to toxic environmental exposures. Objectives Our objective in this study was to describe mental health outcomes, social function impairment, and psychiatric comorbidity in the WTC worker cohort, as well as perceived symptomatology in workers’ children. Methods Ten to 61 months after the WTC attack, 10,132 WTC workers completed a self-administered mental health questionnaire. Results Of the workers who completd the questionnaire, 11.1% met criteria for probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 8.8% met criteria for probable depression, 5.0% met criteria for probable panic disorder, and 62% met criteria for substantial stress reaction. PTSD prevalence was comparable to that seen in returning Afghanistan war veterans and was much higher than in the U.S. general population. Point prevalence declined from 13.5% to 9.7% over the 5 years of observation. Comorbidity was extensive and included extremely high risks for impairment of social function. PTSD was significantly associated with loss of family members and friends, disruption of family, work, and social life, and higher rates of behavioral symptoms in children of workers. Conclusions Working in 9/11 recovery operations is associated with chronic impairment of mental health and social functioning. Psychological distress and psychopathology in WTC workers greatly exceed population norms. Surveillance and treatment programs continue to be needed

Hypoxia decreases creatine uptake in cardiomyocytes, while creatine supplementation enhances HIF activation

Abstract Creatine (Cr), phosphocreatine (PCr), and creatine kinases (CK) comprise an energy shuttle linking ATP production in mitochondria with cellular consumption sites. Myocytes cannot synthesize Cr: these cells depend on uptake across the cell membrane by a specialized creatine transporter (CrT) to maintain intracellular Cr levels. Hypoxia interferes with energy metabolism, including the activity of the creatine energy shuttle, and therefore affects intracellular ATP and PCr levels. Here, we report that exposing cultured cardiomyocytes to low oxygen levels rapidly diminishes Cr transport by decreasing V max and K m. Pharmacological activation of AMP‐activated kinase (AMPK) abrogated the reduction in Cr transport caused by hypoxia. Cr supplementation increases ATP and PCr content in cardiomyocytes subjected to hypoxia, while also significantly augmenting the cellular adaptive response to hypoxia mediated by HIF‐1 activation. Our results indicate that: (1) hypoxia reduces Cr transport in cardiomyocytes in culture, (2) the cytoprotective effects of Cr supplementation are related to enhanced adaptive physiological responses to hypoxia mediated by HIF‐1, and (3) Cr supplementation increases the cellular ATP and PCr content in RNCMs exposed to hypoxia

Circulating BMP9 Protects the Pulmonary Endothelium during Inflammation-induced Lung Injury in Mice.

Rationale: Pulmonary endothelial permeability contributes to the high-permeability pulmonary edema that characterizes acute respiratory distress syndrome. Circulating BMP9 (bone morphogenetic protein 9) is emerging as an important regulator of pulmonary vascular homeostasis. Objectives:To determine whether endogenous BMP9 plays a role in preserving pulmonary endothelial integrity and whether loss of endogenous BMP9 occurs during LPS challenge. Methods: A BMP9-neutralizing antibody was administrated to healthy adult mice, and lung vasculature was examined. Potential mechanisms were delineated by transcript analysis in human lung endothelial cells. The impact of BMP9 administration was evaluated in a murine acute lung injury model induced by inhaled LPS. Levels of BMP9 were measured in plasma from patients with sepsis and from endotoxemic mice. Measurements and Main Results: Subacute neutralization of endogenous BMP9 in mice (N = 12) resulted in increased lung vascular permeability (P = 0.022), interstitial edema (P = 0.0047), and neutrophil extravasation (P = 0.029) compared with IgG control treatment (N = 6). In pulmonary endothelial cells, BMP9 regulated transcriptome pathways implicated in vascular permeability and cell-membrane integrity. Augmentation of BMP9 signaling in mice (N = 8) prevented inhaled LPS-induced lung injury (P = 0.0027) and edema (P < 0.0001). In endotoxemic mice (N = 12), endogenous circulating BMP9 concentrations were markedly reduced, the causes of which include a transient reduction in hepatic BMP9 mRNA expression and increased elastase activity in plasma. In human patients with sepsis (N = 10), circulating concentratons of BMP9 were also markedly reduced (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Endogenous circulating BMP9 is a pulmonary endothelial-protective factor, downregulated during inflammation. Exogenous BMP9 offers a potential therapy to prevent increased pulmonary endothelial permeability in lung injury