Effect of helium pre- or postconditioning on signal transduction kinases in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background: The noble gas helium induces pre- and postconditioning in animals and humans. Volatile anesthetics induce cardioprotection in humans undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We hypothesized that helium induces pre-and postconditioning in CABG-patients, affecting signaling molecules protein kinase C-epsilon (PKC-epsilon), p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK-1/2) and heat shock protein 27 (HSP-27) within cardiac tissue, and reducing postoperative troponin levels. Methods: After ethical approval and informed consent, 125 elective patients undergoing CABG surgery were randomised into this prospective, placebo controlled, investigator blinded, parallel arm single-centre study. Helium preconditioning (3 x 5 min of 70 % helium and 30 % oxygen) was applied before aortic cross clamping; postconditioning (15 min of helium) was applied before release of the aortic cross clamp. Signaling molecules were measured in right atrial appendix specimens. Troponin-T was measured at 4, 12, 24 and 48 h postoperatively. Results: Baseline characteristics of all groups were similar. Helium preconditioning did not significantly alter the primary outcome (molecular levels of kinases PKC-e and HSP-27, ratio of activated p38 MAPK or ERK 1/2). Postoperative troponin T was 11 arbitrary units [5, 31; area-under-the-curve (interquartile range)] for controls, and no statistically significant changes were observed after helium preconditioning [He-pre: 11 (6, 18)], helium postconditioning [He-post: 11 (8, 15)], helium pre-and postconditioning [He-PP: 14 (6, 20)] and after sevoflurane preconditioning [APC: 12 (8, 24), p = 0.13]. No adverse effects related to study treatment were observed in this study. Conclusions: No effect was observed of helium preconditioning, postconditioning or the combination thereof on activation of p38 MAPK, ERK 1/2 or levels of HSP27 and PKC-e in the human heart. Helium pre-and postconditioning did not affect postoperative troponin release in patients undergoing CABG surgery

Impact evaluation of marine aggregate extraction through adaptive monitoring of bottom shear stress in bedform areas

Dedicated monitoring programmes are needed for the evaluation of the effects of the exploitation of non-living resources on the territorial sea and the continental shelf. Related to physical impacts, hydrodynamics and sediment transport, together with sedimentological and morphological evolution, need investigation. Overall aim is to increase process and system knowledge of both natural and exploited areas, with a particular focus on thecompliancy of extraction activities with respect to European Directives (e.g., European Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Habitat Directive). More specifically assessments are needed of changes in seafloor integrity and hydrographic conditions, two descriptors to define Good Environmental Status within Europe’sMarine Strategy Framework Directive.An important parameter is the bottom shear stress, with knowledge needed on both natural and anthropogenically induced variability. Bottom shear stress measurements are used for the validation of numerical models, necessary for impact quantification in the far field. Extensive data-model integration is critical for adequate assessments of the status of the marine environment, a prerequisite for sustainable use of living, and non-living resources

A review of undulated sediment features on Mediterranean prodeltas: distinguishing sediment transport structures from sediment deformation

Most Mediterranean prodeltas show undulated sediment features on the foresets of their Holocene wedges. These features have been described all along the Mediterranean for the last 30 years and interpreted as either soft sediment deformation and incipient landsliding, and more recently, as sediment transport structures. We perform a review and detailed analysis of these undulated sediment features using ultrahigh-resolution seismic and bathymetric data as well as geotechnical information and hydrodynamic time series and hydrographic transects. In this study we show that the characteristics of the sediment undulations (configuration of the reflections down section and between adjacent undulations and overall morphologic characteristics) are incompatible with a genesis by sediment deformation alone and do not show evidence of sediment deformation in most cases. Various processes in the benthic boundary layer can be invoked to explain the variety of features observed in the numerous areas displaying sediment undulations

Cowel-model geeft bedrijven een welzijnsscore

ASG ontwerpt baanbrekende houderijsystemen voor de melkveehouderij – het betreft stallen inclusief de belangrijke schakels in de keten, zoals de aanvoer van krachtvoer en kunstmest. Dit in opdracht van LNV. Het project kreeg de naam Kracht van Koeien. De onderzoekers bouwden onlangs een rekenmodel (Cowel) om de risico- of welzijnsscore van stalsystemen te bepale

Potentielle Wirkung von Unkräutern auf die P-Mobilisierung unter Mais

Die Rhizosphäre ist ein Hot Spot pflanzlicher und mikrobieller Aktivität zur Nährstoffmobilisierung und die Effizienz der Nutzung von Phosphor (P) unterscheidet sich pflanzen- artenspezifisch. Während die P-Mobilisierung in der Rhizosphäre verschiedener Kulturpflanzen intensiv untersucht wurde, ist die Bedeutung der Unkräuter auf die P-Verfügbarkeit für die vergesellschafteten Kulturpflanzen in Balance von Nährstoffkonkurrenz und Mobilisierungsleistung wenig bekannt. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wird geprüft, ob eine zeitweise Toleranz von Unkräutern im Bestand die P-Verfügbarkeit für die Nutzpflanze Mais (Zea mays) durch die Mobilisierungsaktivität der Unkrautarten verbessern kann. Zu diesem Zweck wurden in zwei Versuchsjahren (2015 und 2016) Gefäßversuche unter Halbfreilandbedingungen mit einem P-defizienten Boden etabliert. Mais als mykorrhizierte Testpflanze wurde alleine und in Kombination mit sechs verschiedenen sowohl mykorrhizierten als auch nicht mykorrhizierten Unkrautarten kultiviert (Chenopodium album, Echinochloa crus-galli, Tripleurospermum perforatum, Polygonum convolvulus, Solanum nigrum, Viola arvensis). Um einen möglichen unkrautartspezifischen Einfluss auf die P-Mobilisierung unter Mais zu erfassen, wurden Boden- (u.a. Phosphatasen-Aktivitäten, mikrobieller Biomasse-P, pflanzenverfügbarer P) und Pflanzenparameter (Ertrag, Nährstoffgehalte und Mykorrhizierungsgrad der Feinwurzeln) untersucht. Die Ergebnisse belegen signifikante pflanzenkombinationsspezifische Unterschiede in der P-Mobilisierung und P-Aufnahme

Survival of a submarine canyon during long-term outbuilding of a continental margin

Net-depositional submarine canyons are common in continental slope strata, but how they survive and prograde on constructional margins is poorly understood. In this study we present field evidence for the coevolution of a submarine canyon and the adjacent continental slope. Using a three-dimensional seismic data cube that images the Ebro margin (northwest Mediterranean), we identify a preserved canyon on a middle Pleistocene paleosurface and relate it directly to its expression on the present-day seafloor. A subparallel stacking pattern of seismic reflectors, similar to that seen between prograding clinoforms in intercanyon areas, is observed between the modern and paleocanyon thalwegs. The concavity of the modern long profile differs from the convex-concave long profile on the middle Pleistocene surface, suggesting a long-term change in canyon sedimentation. We interpret this change as a shift to a canyon dominated by turbidity currents from one strongly influenced by the pattern of sedimentation that built the open-slope canyon interfluves. We find support for our interpretation in previous studies of the Ebro margin

The program is the model: Enabling [email protected]

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36089-3_7Revised Selected Papers of 5th International Conference, SLE 2012, Dresden, Germany, September 26-28, 2012The increasing application of Model-Driven Engineering in a wide range of domains, in addition to pure code generation, raises the need to manipulate models at runtime, as part of regular programs. Moreover, certain kinds of programming tasks can be seen as model transformation tasks, and thus we could take advantage of model transformation technology in order to facilitate them. In this paper we report on our works to bridge the gap between regular programming and model transformation by enabling the manipulation of Java APIs as models. Our approach is based on the specification of a mapping between a Java API (e.g., Swing) and a meta-model describing it. A model transformation definition is written against the API meta-model and we have built a compiler that generates the corresponding Java bytecode according to the mapping. We present several application scenarios and discuss the mapping between object-oriented meta-modelling and the Java object system. Our proposal has been validated by a prototype implementation which is also contributed.Work funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (TIN2011-24139), and the R&D programme of Madrid Region (S2009/TIC-1650)