Urban particulate pollution reduction by four species of green roof vegetation in a UK city

AbstractUrban particulate pollution in the UK remains at levels which have the potential to cause negative impacts on human health. There is a need, therefore, for mitigation strategies within cities, especially with regards to vehicular sources. The use of vegetation as a passive filter of urban air has been previously investigated, however green roof vegetation has not been specifically considered. The present study aims to quantify the effectiveness of four green roof species – creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), red fescue (Festuca rubra), ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and sedum (Sedum album) – at capturing particulate matter smaller than 10 μm (PM10). Plants were grown in a location away from major road sources of PM10 and transplanted onto two roofs in Manchester city centre. One roof is adjacent to a major traffic source and one roof is characterised more by urban background inputs. Significant differences in metal containing PM10 capture were found between sites and between species. Site differences were explained by proximity to major sources. Species differences arise from differences in macro and micro morphology of the above surface biomass. The study finds that the grasses, A. stolonifera and F. rubra, are more effective than P. lanceolata and S. album at PM10 capture. Quantification of the annual PM10 removal potential was calculated under a maximum sedum green roof installation scenario for an area of the city centre, which totals 325 ha. Remediation of 2.3% (±0.1%) of 9.18 tonnes PM10 inputs for this area could be achieved under this scenario

Outcomes of Patients with Nelson's Syndrome after Primary Treatment: A Multicenter Study from 13 UK Pituitary Centers.

CONTEXT: Long-term outcomes of patients with Nelson's syndrome (NS) have been poorly explored, especially in the modern era. OBJECTIVE: To elucidate tumor control rates, effectiveness of various treatments, and markers of prognostic relevance in patients with NS. PATIENTS, DESIGN, AND SETTING: Retrospective cohort study of 68 patients from 13 UK pituitary centers with median imaging follow-up of 13 years (range 1-45) since NS diagnosis. RESULTS: Management of Cushing's disease (CD) prior to NS diagnosis included surgery+adrenalectomy (n = 30; eight patients had 2 and one had 3 pituitary operations), surgery+radiotherapy+adrenalectomy (n = 17; two received >1 courses of irradiation, two had ≥2 pituitary surgeries), radiotherapy+adrenalectomy (n = 2), and adrenalectomy (n = 19). Primary management of NS mainly included surgery, radiotherapy, surgery+radiotherapy, and observation; 10-year tumor progression-free survival was 62% (surgery 80%, radiotherapy 52%, surgery+radiotherapy 81%, observation 51%). Sex, age at CD or NS diagnosis, size of adenoma (micro-/macroadenoma) at CD diagnosis, presence of pituitary tumor on imaging prior adrenalectomy, and mode of NS primary management were not predictors of tumor progression. Mode of management of CD before NS diagnosis was a significant factor predicting progression, with the group treated by surgery+radiotherapy+adrenalectomy for their CD showing the highest risk (hazard ratio 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-13.5). During follow-up, 3% of patients had malignant transformation with spinal metastases and 4% died of aggressively enlarging tumor. CONCLUSIONS: At 10 years follow-up, 38% of the patients diagnosed with NS showed progression of their corticotroph tumor. Complexity of treatments for the CD prior to NS diagnosis, possibly reflecting corticotroph adenoma aggressiveness, predicts long-term tumor prognosis

EROS is a selective chaperone regulating the phagocyte NADPH oxidase and purinergic signalling

EROS (essential for reactive oxygen species) protein is indispensable for expression of gp91phox, the catalytic core of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase. EROS deficiency in humans is a novel cause of the severe immunodeficiency, chronic granulomatous disease, but its mechanism of action was unknown until now. We elucidate the role of EROS, showing it acts at the earliest stages of gp91phox maturation. It binds the immature 58 kDa gp91phox directly, preventing gp91phox degradation and allowing glycosylation via the oligosaccharyltransferase machinery and the incorporation of the heme prosthetic groups essential for catalysis. EROS also regulates the purine receptors P2X7 and P2X1 through direct interactions, and P2X7 is almost absent in EROS-deficient mouse and human primary cells. Accordingly, lack of murine EROS results in markedly abnormal P2X7 signalling, inflammasome activation, and T cell responses. The loss of both ROS and P2X7 signalling leads to resistance to influenza infection in mice. Our work identifies EROS as a highly selective chaperone for key proteins in innate and adaptive immunity and a rheostat for immunity to infection. It has profound implications for our understanding of immune physiology, ROS dysregulation, and possibly gene therapy.</jats:p

Prevalence of sexual dimorphism in mammalian phenotypic traits

The role of sex in biomedical studies has often been overlooked, despite evidence of sexually dimorphic effects in some biological studies. Here, we used high-throughput phenotype data from 14,250 wildtype and 40,192 mutant mice (representing 2,186 knockout lines), analysed for up to 234 traits, and found a large proportion of mammalian traits both in wildtype and mutants are influenced by sex. This result has implications for interpreting disease phenotypes in animal models and humans