Pulmonary responses of asthmatic and normal subjects to different temperature and humidity conditions in an environmental chamber

Determining the possible adverse health effects of air pollutants can be complicated by differences in the environmental conditions of temperature and humidity. To evaluate the potentially confounding effects of differences in temperature and humidity, we exposed 8 normal male subjects and 8 male subjects with asthma to the extremes in temperature and humidity that could be maintained in an environmental chamber. We performed serial pulmonary function tests for these subjects before and during 6 hr exposure periods on 5 separate occasions: cold, dry (10°C, 10% relative humidity); cold, humid (10°C, 50% relative humidity); normal ambient (22°C, 40% relative humidity); hot, dry (37°C, 15% relative humidity); and hot, humid (37°C, 60% relative humidity). The exposure period included a 12 min exercise on a cycle ergometer. We found no significant change in spirometry, airways resistance, or diffusing capacity for either group of subjects at rest alone over the 6 hr period of exposure for any exposure condition. However, there were changes in spirometry and airways resistance as a result of the 12 min period of exercise. The subjects with asthma had significant decreases in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) (20–21%) and increases in specific airways resistance when exercising in conditions of cold and dry, cold and humid, and hot and dry. The normal subjects had an average increase in FEV 1 of approximately 6% when exercising in the hot and humid conditions. We found significant correlations for the changes in FEV 1 with the water content of the exposure conditions for both groups of subjects. We also found that the work performance (expressed as the external work performed divided by the oxygen consumed) was decreased for the subjects in both groups at the conditions of the higher temperature (37°C) compared with the lower temperature (10°C). These results confirm that controlling for the conditions of temperature and humidity is essential in chamber studies, field studies, or epidemiologic evaluations determining the adverse effect of an air pollutant.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41344/1/408_2004_Article_BF00164755.pd

Cells Lacking the <i>RB1</i> Tumor Suppressor Gene Are Hyperdependent on Aurora B Kinase for Survival.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 15% of lung cancers and is almost always linked to inactivating RB1 and TP53 mutations. SCLC frequently responds, albeit briefly, to chemotherapy. The canonical function of the RB1 gene product RB1 is to repress the E2F transcription factor family. RB1 also plays both E2F-dependent and E2F-independent mitotic roles. We performed a synthetic lethal CRISPR/Cas9 screen in an RB1 -/- SCLC cell line that conditionally expresses RB1 to identify dependencies that are caused by RB1 loss and discovered that RB1 -/- SCLC cell lines are hyperdependent on multiple proteins linked to chromosomal segregation, including Aurora B kinase. Moreover, we show that an Aurora B kinase inhibitor is efficacious in multiple preclinical SCLC models at concentrations that are well tolerated in mice. These results suggest that RB1 loss is a predictive biomarker for sensitivity to Aurora B kinase inhibitors in SCLC and perhaps other RB1 -/- cancers. SIGNIFICANCE: SCLC is rarely associated with actionable protooncogene mutations. We did a CRISPR/Cas9-based screen that showed that RB1 -/- SCLC are hyperdependent on AURKB, likely because both genes control mitotic fidelity, and confirmed that Aurora B kinase inhibitors are efficacious against RB1 -/- SCLC tumors in mice at nontoxic doses.See related commentary by Dick and Li, p. 169.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 151

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

A Low-Cost Solution for the Monitoring of Air Pollution Parameters Through Bicycles

The monitoring of air quality parameters is a fundamental requirement for smart cities development and it is of primary importance for the quality of human life. In fact, the knowledge of air quality parameters along the days and in different areas of the city is essential to monitor its behavior and to take some preventive measurements to limit the concentration. Especially in big cities, it is very hard to have widespread updated data about pollutants and air quality parameters since normally only few air quality monitoring stations are available. In Piedmont (Italy), the reference public body for this kind of information is the ARPA (Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment) which is responsible for the collection and the disclosure of environmental data. However, the number of monitoring stations along the city is limited and they have fixed positions. A solution through mobile sensors would be preferable to have a more comprehensive description of the phenomenon. In this paper, the authors describe the implementation of a new solution based on a mobile system to house environmental air quality and imaging sensors (since also the knowledge of the shape of the environment is a fundamental aspect). In particular, a bicycle is adopted and the paper describes all the analyses involved in the choice of the more appropriate sensors and their evaluation and behavior in a real environment. Finally, the collection and management of the acquired data is analyzed through the implementation of a dedicated GIS (Geographical Information System)