Carel Breytspraak sr., hofleverancier van Lodewijk Napoleon. De Breytspraak-meubelen uit de collectie van het Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam

In 1808, King Louis Napoleon had the town hall of Amsterdam converted to Royal Palace. Besides making the necessary architectural alterations, he ordered hundreds of pieces of furniture and other ornamental objects from local furniture makers, upholsterers, decorators and other suppliers. This collection of Empire furniture, which is still preserved in the palace, is today the largest of its kind outside France. Between 2005 and 2009, these pieces of furniture were restored as part of the wider restoration of the entire palace, a gigantic operation that involved hundreds of restoration experts. A furniture committee made sure that quality and looks remained uniform. During the process the restoration experts and researchers made a full study of the furniture, documenting finds and findings, supplemented with research into the origins, the makers, use, techniques and material. This is unique for the Netherlands. The data, recorded in documentation and restoration reports, offer fresh insights in especially the construction and manufacturing process of Dutch Empire furniture. The discoveries are illustrated by a number of purveyances by Carel Breytspraak Sr. (1769-1810), the best paid furniture maker of the king. The 100 chairs he made for the Grand dining room of the palace are an example of pre-modern serial production. This may be inferred from the varying quality of the wood that was used and from the varying thickness of the seat stretchers, among other things. Furthermore, it turned out that the chairs still had the original stuffing, which was reused after having been restored. One chair still had the original upholstery from the days of Louis Napoleon and this was used as the basis for the current upholstery. The chairs are typical examples of furniture made after French decoration prints, which were undoubtedly provided by the king’s architects. The roll-top desk that Breytspraak made for the king’s bedroom is one of the most unique pieces in the collection and is certainly not a mass product. Unlike with the chairs, the mahogany wood used here – mainly applied in mirrored fashion – is of a strikingly high quality. The desk is an example of previous restoration or maintenance efforts. For instance, the marble top as well as the fittings on the lower doors turned out not to be original. This has been remedied in this restoration campaign. Another set of furniture that suffered from previous activities is the corps de bibliothèque. A special aspect here is that for these bookcases – intended for the king’s library and topographical collection – we still have the contract between Breytspraak and the architect, which gives us insight into how the furniture maker was instructed. What is interesting is that Breytspraak was ordered to construct the bookcases in such a way that the shelves could be moved. He was also especially requested to give them a mahogany finish, in such a way that they would have the appearance of massive mahogany. Finally, some small pieces of furniture for the apartment of the crown prince (1809) demonstrate the versatility of Breytspraaks workshop. He produced several gueridons (tripod tables), constructed from a ‘wagon wheel’ carrying a marble top, with a column and a plinth on lion’s feet. These elements are fixed with an iron rod that can be tightened. Further research could provide more insight into the production process and the differences between the Dutch and French furniture.In 1808 liet koning Lodewijk Napoleon het stadhuis van Amsterdam veranderen in een koninklijk paleis. Naast de benodigde architecturale wijzigingen werden daartoe bij lokale meubelmakers, stoffeerders en andere leveranciers honderden meubelen en andere objecten gekocht. Nog altijd bewaard in het paleis vormt de collectie empire meubelen vandaag de grootste buiten Frankrijk. Tussen 2005-2009 zijn de meubelen gerestaureerd, als onderdeel van de grotere restauratie van het gehele paleis. Dit was een enorme operatie, waaraan honderden restauratoren meewerkten. Een meubelcommissie zag erop toe dat een uniforme kwaliteit en uiterlijk gewaarborgd bleef. Daarbij is door de restauratoren en onderzoekers integraal onderzoek verricht naar de meubelen. Vondsten en bevindingen gedaan tijdens de restauraties zijn genoteerd, aangevuld met onderzoek naar herkomst, makers, gebruik, technieken en materialen. Dit is een unicum in Nederland. De gegevens, vastgelegd in documentatie- en restauratierapporten, bieden nieuwe inzichten in vooral de constructie en productiewijze van Hollandse empire meubelen. Aan de hand van een aantal leveranties van Carel Breytspraak sr. (1769-1810), de best betaalde meubelmaker van de koning, worden de vondsten geïllustreerd. De 100 stoelen die Breytspraak leverde voor de Grote eetzaal van het paleis zijn een voorbeeld van vroegmoderne massaproductie. Dit is onder meer af te leiden uit de wisselende kwaliteit van het gebruikte hout en de wisselende dikte van zittingregels. De stoelen bleken bovendien de originele koeken te herbergen, die na restauratie hergebruikt zijn. Op één stoel werd de bekleding uit de tijd van Lodewijk teruggevonden. Die stond model voor de huidige bekleding van de stoelen. De stoelen zijn verder een voorbeeld van meubelen gemaakt naar voorbeeld van een Franse decoratieprent, ongetwijfeld geleverd door Lodewijks architecten. Het cilinderbureau dat Breytspraak vervaardigde voor de slaapkamer van de koning is een van de meest bijzondere stukken uit de collectie en is zeker geen massaproduct. In tegenstelling tot de stoelen is hier de hoge kwaliteit van het mahoniehout opvallend, dat vooral gespiegeld is aangebracht. Ook het beslag is van bijzonder hoge kwaliteit. Het bureau is een voorbeeld van eerdere restauratie- of onderhoudswerkzaamheden. Zo bleken de marmeren dekplaat en het beslag op de onderste deuren niet origineel. Dit is tijdens deze restauratiecampagne hersteld. Een ander meubelensemble dat te lijden heeft gehad door eerdere werkzaamheden is het corps de bibliothèque. Bijzonder is dat wij van deze boekenkasten, bedoeld voor Lodewijks bibliotheek en topografisch kabinet, het contract tussen Breytspraak en de architect hebben. Dit geeft inzicht in hoe de meubelmaker te werk moest gaan. Interessant is dat Breytspraak de constructie zo diende te maken dat de planken verstelbaar bleven. Er werd uitdrukkelijk gevraagd om de kasten te fineren met mahonie, maar wel zo dat het uiterlijk van massief mahoniehout geïmiteerd werd. Ten slotte laten een aantal kleinere meubelen, geleverd voor het appartement van de kroonprins (1809) de veelzijdigheid van Breytspraaks atelier zien. Zo leverde hij meerdere gueridons (driepoottafels), opgebouwd uit een ‘wagenwiel’ dat het marmeren blad draagt, een kolom en een plint op leeuwenpoten. De onderdelen zijn vastgezet met een ijzeren stang die aangeschroefd kan worden

A proteomics and transcriptomics approach to identify leukemic stem cell (LSC) markers

Interactions between hematopoietic stem cells and their niche are mediated by proteins within the plasma membrane (PM) and changes in these interactions might alter hematopoietic stem cell fate and ultimately result in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here, using nano-LC/MS/MS, we set out to analyze the PM profile of two leukemia patient samples. We identified 867 and 610 unique CD34(+) PM (-associated) proteins in these AML samples respectively, including previously described proteins such as CD47, CD44, CD135, CD96, and ITGA5, but also novel ones like CD82, CD97, CD99, PTH2R, ESAM, MET, and ITGA6. Further validation by flow cytometry and functional studies indicated that long-term self-renewing leukemic stem cells reside within the CD34(+)/ITGA6(+) fraction, at least in a subset of AML cases. Furthermore, we combined proteomics with transcriptomics approaches using a large panel of AML CD34(+) (n = 60) and normal bone marrow CD34(+) (n = 40) samples. Thus, we identified eight subgroups of AML patients based on their specific PM expression profile. GSEA analysis revealed that these eight subgroups are enriched for specific cellular processes

Resveratrol and Pterostilbene Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Air-Liquid Interface Cultured Human Primary Bronchial Epithelial Cells

The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has an enormous impact on human health and economy. In search for therapeutic options, researchers have proposed resveratrol, a food supplement with known antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties as an advantageous antiviral therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we provide evidence that both resveratrol and its metabolically more stable structural analog, pterostilbene, exhibit potent antiviral properties against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. First, we show that resveratrol and pterostilbene antiviral activity in African green monkey kidney cells. Both compounds actively inhibit virus replication within infected cells as reduced virus progeny production was observed when the compound was added at post-inoculation conditions. Without replenishment of the compound, antiviral activity was observed up to roughly five rounds of replication, demonstrating the long-lasting effect of these compounds. Second, as the upper respiratory tract represents the initial site of SARS-CoV-2 replication, we also assessed antiviral activity in air–liquid interface (ALI) cultured human primary bronchial epithelial cells, isolated from healthy volunteers. Resveratrol and pterostilbene showed a strong antiviral effect in these cells up to 48 h post-infection. Collectively, our data indicate that resveratrol and pterostilbene are promising antiviral compounds to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection. Because these results represent laboratory findings in cells, we advocate evaluation of these compounds in clinical trials before statements are made whether these drugs are advantageous for COVID-19 treatment

A review of the use of terrestrial laser scanning application for change detection and deformation monitoring of structures

Change detection and deformation monitoring is an active area of research within the field of engineering surveying as well as overlapping areas such as structural and civil engineering. The application of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) techniques for change detection and deformation monitoring of concrete structures has increased over the years as illustrated in the past studies. This paper presents a review of literature on TLS application in the monitoring of structures and discusses registration and georeferencing of TLS point cloud data as a critical issue in the process chain of accurate deformation analysis. Past TLS research work has shown some trends in addressing issues such as accurate registration and georeferencing of the scans and the need of a stable reference frame, TLS error modelling and reduction, point cloud processing techniques for deformation analysis, scanner calibration issues and assessing the potential of TLS in detecting sub-centimetre and millimetre deformations. However, several issues are still open to investigation as far as TLS is concerned in change detection and deformation monitoring studies such as rigorous and efficient workflow methodology of point cloud processing for change detection and deformation analysis, incorporation of measurement geometry in deformation measurements of high-rise structures, design of data acquisition and quality assessment for precise measurements and modelling the environmental effects on the performance of laser scanning. Even though some studies have attempted to address these issues, some gaps exist as information is still limited. Some methods reviewed in the case studies have been applied in landslide monitoring and they seem promising to be applied in engineering surveying to monitor structures. Hence the proposal of a three-stage process model for deformation analysis is presented. Furthermore, with technological advancements new TLS instruments with better accuracy are being developed necessitating more research for precise measurements in the monitoring of structures

The Cellular Phenotype of Roberts Syndrome Fibroblasts as Revealed by Ectopic Expression of ESCO2

Cohesion between sister chromatids is essential for faithful chromosome segregation. In budding yeast, the acetyltransferase Eco1/Ctf7 establishes cohesion during DNA replication in S phase and in response to DNA double strand breaks in G2/M phase. In humans two Eco1 orthologs exist: ESCO1 and ESCO2. Both proteins are required for proper sister chromatid cohesion, but their exact function is unclear at present. Since ESCO2 has been identified as the gene defective in the rare autosomal recessive cohesinopathy Roberts syndrome (RBS), cells from RBS patients can be used to elucidate the role of ESCO2. We investigated for the first time RBS cells in comparison to isogenic controls that stably express V5- or GFP-tagged ESCO2. We show that the sister chromatid cohesion defect in the transfected cell lines is rescued and suggest that ESCO2 is regulated by proteasomal degradation in a cell cycle-dependent manner. In comparison to the corrected cells RBS cells were hypersensitive to the DNA-damaging agents mitomycin C, camptothecin and etoposide, while no particular sensitivity to UV, ionizing radiation, hydroxyurea or aphidicolin was found. The cohesion defect of RBS cells and their hypersensitivity to DNA-damaging agents were not corrected by a patient-derived ESCO2 acetyltransferase mutant (W539G), indicating that the acetyltransferase activity of ESCO2 is essential for its function. In contrast to a previous study on cells from patients with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, another cohesinopathy, RBS cells failed to exhibit excessive chromosome aberrations after irradiation in G2 phase of the cell cycle. Our results point at an S phase-specific role for ESCO2 in the maintenance of genome stability

Dasatinib impairs long-term expansion of leukemic progenitors in a subset of acute myeloid leukemia cases

A number of signaling pathways might be frequently disrupted in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We questioned whether the dual SRC/ABL kinase inhibitor dasatinib can affect AML cells and whether differences can be observed with normal CD34+ cells. First, we demonstrated that normal cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells were unaffected by dasatinib at a low concentration (0.5 nM) in the long-term culture on MS5 stromal cells. No changes were observed in proliferation, differentiation, and colony formation. In a subset of AML cases (3/15), a distinct reduction in cell proliferation was observed, ranging from 48% to 91% inhibition at 0.5 nM of dasatinib, in particular, those characterized by BCR–ABL or KIT mutations. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of dasatinib were cytokine specific. Stem cell factor-mediated proliferation was significantly impaired, associated with a reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and STAT5, whereas no effect was observed on interleukin-3 and thrombopoietin-mediated signaling despite SRC activation. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that dasatinib is a potential inhibitor in a subgroup of AML, especially those that express BCR–ABL or KIT mutations

Establishing human leukemia xenograft mouse models by implanting human bone marrow-like scaffold-based niches

To begin to understand the mechanisms that regulate self-renewal, differentiation, and transformation of human hematopoietic stem cells or to evaluate the efficacy of novel treatment modalities, stem cells need to be studied in their own species-specific microenvironment. By implanting ceramic scaffolds coated with human mesenchymal stromal cells into immune-deficient mice, we were able to mimic the human bone marrow niche. Thus, we have established a human leukemia xenograft mouse model in which a large cohort of patient samples successfully engrafted, which covered all of the important genetic and risk subgroups. We found that by providing a humanized environment, stem cell self-renewal properties were better maintained as determined by serial transplantation assays and genome-wide transcriptome studies, and less clonal drift was observed as determined by exome sequencing. The human leukemia xenograft mouse models that we have established here will serve as an excellent resource for future studies aimed at exploring novel therapeutic approaches

Closing the Information Loop

Decision support systems require a form of situation awareness. to generate situation awareness information is needed. not all available information is necessary or equally influential. this paper proposes a way to determine which and when information is relevant. the goal of this is to minimize communication and processing of irrelevant information. our system is inspired by a few first responder experiments done in our lab. in these experiments first responders had to respond to a calamity. the information need of responders was analyzed. to have good team performance it was clear that at certain times certain information was important. we modeled a toy problem after this scenario and we use this illustrate our method of reducing irrelevant information. our toy problem consists of a bayesian network with which sensitivity analysis is used to illustrate which information is relevant. a simple tracker scenario with information theoretic techniques is used to illustrate when information is relevant