Chronic e-cigarette exposure alters the human bronchial epithelial proteome

Rationale: E-cigarettes vaporize propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin (PG/VG), nicotine, and flavorings. However, the long-term health effects of exposing lungs to vaped e-liquids are unknown. Objectives: To determine the effects of chronic vaping on pulmonary epithelia. Methods: We performed research bronchoscopies on healthy nonsmokers, cigarette smokers, and e-cigarette users (vapers) and obtained bronchial brush biopsies and lavage samples from these subjects for proteomic investigation. We further employed in vitro and murine exposure models to support our human findings. Measurements and Main Results: Visual inspection by bronchoscopy revealed that vaper airways appeared friable and erythematous. Epithelial cells from biopsy samples revealed approximately 300 proteins that were differentially expressed in smoker and vaper airways, with only 78 proteins being commonly altered in both groups and 113 uniquely altered in vapers. For example, CYP1B1 (cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily B member 1), MUC5AC (mucin 5 AC), and MUC4 levels were increased in vapers. Aerosolized PG/VG alone significantly increasedMUC5AC protein in human airway epithelial cultures and in murine nasal epithelia in vivo.We also found that e-liquids rapidly entered cells and that PG/VG reduced membrane fluidity and impaired protein diffusion. Conclusions: We conclude that chronic vaping exerts marked biological effects on the lung and that these effects may in part be mediated by the PG/VG base. These changes are likely not harmless and may have clinical implications for the development of chronic lung disease. Further studies will be required to determine the full extent of vaping on the lung

Previsões climáticas sazonais sobre o Brasil: avaliação do RegCM3 aninhado no modelo global CPTEC/COLA Seasonal climatic forecast over Brazil: evaluation of the RegCM3 model nested to the CPTEC/COLA global model

Este trabalho avalia o desempenho de previsões sazonais do modelo climático regional RegCM3, aninhado ao modelo global CPTEC/COLA. As previsões com o RegCM3 utilizaram 60 km de resolução horizontal num domínio que inclui grande parte da América do Sul. As previsões do RegCM3 e CPTEC/COLA foram avaliadas utilizando as análises de chuva e temperatura do ar do Climate Prediction Center (CPC) e National Centers for Enviromental Prediction (NCEP), respectivamente. Entre maio de 2005 e julho de 2007, 27 previsões sazonais de chuva e temperatura do ar (exceto a temperatura do CPTEC/COLA, que possui 26 previsões) foram avaliadas em três regiões do Brasil: Nordeste (NDE), Sudeste (SDE) e Sul (SUL). As previsões do RegCM3 também foram comparadas com as climatologias das análises. De acordo com os índices estatísticos (bias, coeficiente de correlação, raiz quadrada do erro médio quadrático e coeficiente de eficiência), nas três regiões (NDE, SDE e SUL) a chuva sazonal prevista pelo RegCM3 é mais próxima da observada do que a prevista pelo CPTEC/COLA. Além disto, o RegCM3 também é melhor previsor da chuva sazonal do que da média das observações nas três regiões. Para temperatura, as previsões do RegCM3 são superiores às do CPTEC/COLA nas áreas NDE e SUL, enquanto o CPTEC/COLA é superior no SDE. Finalmente, as previsões de chuva e temperatura do RegCM3 são mais próximas das observações do que a climatologia observada. Estes resultados indicam o potencial de utilização do RegCM3 para previsão sazonal, que futuramente deverá ser explorado através de previsão por conjunto.<br>This study presents an assessment of seasonal forecasts from the regional climate model RegCM3 nested to the CPTEC/COLA global model. The used RegCM3 version is 60 km horizontal resolution over an area that includes large part of South America. RegCM3 and CPTEC/COLA forecasts were evaluated using the rainfall and air temperature analyses from Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), respectively. From May 2005 to July 2007, 27 seasonal forecast of rainfall and air temperature (except for air temperature from CPTEC/COLA with 26 forecasts) were evaluated over three regions of Brazil: Northeast (NDE), Southeast (SDE) and South (SUL). RegCM3 forecasts were also compared with the climatologic fields of the analyses. The statistical indexes (bias, correlation coefficient, root mean square error and efficiency coefficient) showed that over the three regions (NDE, SDE and SUL) the RegCM3 predicted seasonal rainfall is closer to the observations than the CPTEC/COLA. Moreover, the RegCM3 is a best predictor of the seasonal rainfall than the average of the observations during the period. For air temperature, the RegCM3 forecasts perform better than the CPTEC/COLA over NDE and SUL regions, while the CPTEC/COLA shows better performance ovver SDE. Finally, the RegCM3 seasonal air temperature and rainfall estimated are closer to the observations than the observed climatology. These results suggest a potential utility of RegCM3 to be used for seasonal forecast which will be explored in the future using ensemble forecast