On inferring isoprene emission surface flux from atmospheric boundary layer concentration measurements

We examine the dependence of the inferred isoprene surface emission flux from atmospheric concentration on the diurnal variability of the convective boundary layer (CBL). A series of systematic numerical experiments carried out using the mixed-layer technique enabled us to study the sensitivity of isoprene fluxes to the entrainment process, the partition of surface fluxes, the horizontal advection of warm/cold air masses and subsidence. Our findings demonstrate the key role played by the evolution of boundary layer height in modulating the retrieved isoprene flux. More specifically, inaccurate values of the potential temperature lapse rate lead to changes in the dilution capacity of the CBL and as a result the isoprene flux may be overestimated or underestimated by as much as 20%. The inferred emission flux estimated in the early morning hours is highly dependent on the accurate estimation of the discontinuity of the thermodynamic values between the residual layer and the rapidly forming CBL. Uncertainties associated with the partition of the sensible and latent heat flux also yield large deviations in the calculation of the isoprene surface flux. Similar results are obtained if we neglect the influence of warm or cold advection in the development of the CBL.We show that all the above-mentioned processes are non-linear, for which reason the dynamic and chemical evolutions of the CBL must be solved simultaneously. Based on the discussion of our results, we suggest the measurements needed to correctly apply the mixed-layer technique in order to minimize the uncertainties associated with the diurnal variability of the convective boundary layer

\Lambda-buildings and base change functors

We prove an analog of the base change functor of \Lambda-trees in the setting of generalized affine buildings. The proof is mainly based on local and global combinatorics of the associated spherical buildings. As an application we obtain that the class of generalized affine building is closed under ultracones and asymptotic cones. Other applications involve a complex of groups decompositions and fixed point theorems for certain classes of generalized affine buildings.Comment: revised version, 29 pages, to appear in Geom. Dedicat

Fetal Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Child Adiposity Measures at 10 Years of Age in the General Dutch Population

BACKGROUND: Fetal exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides might lead to fetal metabolic adaptations, predisposing individuals to adverse metabolic profiles in later life. OBJECTIVE: We examined the association of maternal urinary OP pesticide metabolite concentrations in pregnancy with offspring body mass index (BMI) and fat measures at 10 years of age. METHODS: Between 2002 and 2006, we included 642 mother–child pairs from the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We measured maternal urinary concentrations of OP pesticide metabolites, namely, dialkyl phosphates, including three dimethyl and three diethyl phosphates in early-, mid-and late-pregnancy. At 10 years of age, child total and regional body fat and lean mass were measured through dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and abdominal and organ fat through magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Higher maternal urinary pregnancy-average or trimester-specific dialkyl, dimethyl, or diethyl phosphate concentrations were not associated with childhood BMI and the risk of overweight. In addition, we did not observe any association of dialkyl, dimethyl, or diethyl phosphate concentrations with total and regional body fat, abdominal visceral fat, liver fat, or pericardial fat at child age of 10 y. CONCLUSION: We observed no associations of maternal urinary dialkyl concentrations during pregnancy with childhood adiposity measures at 10 years of age. Whether these associations develop at older ages should be further studied.</p

A Computation of the Maximal Order Type of the Term Ordering on Finite Multisets

We give a sharpening of a recent result of Aschenbrenner and Pong about the maximal order type of the term ordering on the finite multisets over a wpo. Moreover we discuss an approach to compute maximal order types of well-partial orders which are related to tree embeddings

Priming by Chemokines Restricts Lateral Mobility of the Adhesion Receptor LFA-1 and Restores Adhesion to ICAM-1 Nano-Aggregates on Human Mature Dendritic Cells

LFA-1 is a leukocyte specific β2 integrin that plays a major role in regulating adhesion and migration of different immune cells. Recent data suggest that LFA-1 on mature dendritic cells (mDCs) may function as a chemokine-inducible anchor during homing of DCs through the afferent lymphatics into the lymph nodes, by transiently switching its molecular conformational state. However, the role of LFA-1 mobility in this process is not yet known, despite that the importance of lateral organization and dynamics for LFA-1-mediated adhesion regulation is broadly recognized. Using single particle tracking approaches we here show that LFA-1 exhibits higher mobility on resting mDCs compared to monocytes. Lymphoid chemokine CCL21 stimulation of the LFA-1 high affinity state on mDCs, led to a significant reduction of mobility and an increase on the fraction of stationary receptors, consistent with re-activation of the receptor. Addition of soluble monomeric ICAM-1 in the presence of CCL21 did not alter the diffusion profile of LFA-1 while soluble ICAM-1 nano-aggregates in the presence of CCL21 further reduced LFA-1 mobility and readily bound to the receptor. Overall, our results emphasize the importance of LFA-1 lateral mobility across the membrane on the regulation of integrin activation and its function as adhesion receptor. Importantly, our data show that chemokines alone are not sufficient to trigger the high affinity state of the integrin based on the strict definition that affinity refers to the adhesion capacity of a single receptor to its ligand in solution. Instead our data indicate that nanoclustering of the receptor, induced by multi-ligand binding, is required to maintain stable cell adhesion once LFA-1 high affinity state is transiently triggered by inside-out signals.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Formulation of the Dutch Atmospheric Large-Eddy Simulation (DALES) and Overview of Its Applications

The current version of the Dutch Atmospheric Large-Eddy Simulation (DALES) is presented. DALES is a large-eddy simulation code designed for studies of the physics of the atmospheric boundary layer, including convective and stable boundary layers as well as cloudy boundary layers. In addition, DALES can be used for studies of more specific cases, such as flow over sloping or heterogeneous terrain, and dispersion of inert and chemically active species. This paper contains an extensive description of the physical and numerical formulation of the code, and gives an overview of its applications and accomplishments in recent years

Upper and Lower Bounds on Sizes of Finite Bisimulations of Pfaffian Dynamical Systems

In this paper we study a class of dynamical systems defined by Pfaffian maps. It is a sub-class of o-minimal dynamical systems which capture rich continuous dynamics and yet can be studied using finite bisimulations. The existence of finite bisimulations for o-minimal dynamical and hybrid systems has been shown by several authors; see e.g. Brihaye et al (2004), Davoren (1999), Lafferriere et al (2000). The next natural question to investigate is how the sizes of such bisimulations can be bounded. The first step in this direction was done by Korovina et al (2004) where a double exponential upper bound was shown for Pfaffian dynamical and hybrid systems. In the present paper we improve this bound to a single exponential upper bound. Moreover we show that this bound is tight in general, by exhibiting a parameterized class of systems on which the exponential bound is attained. The bounds provide a basis for designing efficient algorithms for computing bisimulations, solving reachability and motion planning problems

Growth kinetics of nuclei formed from different binders and powders in vertical cylindrical mixing devices

peer-reviewedGranulation is the process of forming large aggregates from fine particles using a high shear mixer. This method is used in several industries from pharmaceuticals to chemical and fertilizer production. This research will study the effect of four process variables: speed of mixer rotation in the range 100–200 rpm, powder bed mass (25–40 g), mass of the initial nucleus (0.6–2 g), and binder viscosity (water, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solutions with concentrations in the range 0.5–20 g/L) on single nuclei growth kinetics in low mixing devices. The powders under study were: lactose, tea, sugar, starch, and limestone. The results show the initial size of nuclei, the initial mass of the powder bed and binder viscosity and speed of rotation all influence the rate of nuclei growth. Analysis of the stokes deformation number of the nuclei show that growth rate of the nuclei decreases as the deformation number increases whilst the percentage gain in mass of the nuclei increases with increasing deformation number. The binder viscosity was shown to have the biggest influence of the growth rate of the nuclei. Results show that difference in powder density also has an effect on the growth kinetics of nuclei. The initial position of nuclei was also shown to influence the nuclei growth rate; the closer the starting position of the nuclei to the wall of the vessel the slower the growth rate

cDC2 plasticity and acquisition of a DC3-like phenotype mediated by IL-6 and PGE2 in a patient-derived colorectal cancer organoids model

Metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) is highly resistant to therapy and prone to recur. The tumor-induced local and systemic immunosuppression allows cancer cells to evade immunosurveillance, facilitating their proliferation and dissemination. Dendritic cells (DCs) are required for the detection, processing, and presentation of tumor antigens, and subsequently for the activation of antigen-specific T cells to orchestrate an effective antitumor response. Notably, successful tumors have evolved mechanisms to disrupt and impair DC functions, underlining the key role of tumor-induced DC dysfunction in promoting tumor growth, metastasis initiation, and treatment resistance. Conventional DC type 2 (cDC2) are highly prevalent in tumors and have been shown to present high phenotypic and functional plasticity in response to tumor-released environmental cues. This plasticity reverberates on both the development of antitumor responses and on the efficacy of immunotherapies in cancer patients. Uncovering the processes, mechanisms, and mediators by which CRC shapes and disrupts cDC2 functions is crucial to restoring their full antitumor potential. In this study, we use our recently developed 3D DC-tumor co-culture system to investigate how patient-derived primary and metastatic CRC organoids modulate cDC2 phenotype and function. We first demonstrate that our collagen-based system displays extensive interaction between cDC2 and tumor organoids. Interestingly, we show that tumor-corrupted cDC2 shift toward a CD14+ population with defective expression of maturation markers, an intermediate phenotype positioned between cDC2 and monocytes, and impaired T-cell activating abilities. This phenotype aligns with the newly defined DC3 (CD14(+) CD1c(+) CD163(+)) subset. Remarkably, a comparable population was found to be present in tumor lesions and enriched in the peripheral blood of metastatic CRC patients. Moreover, using EP2 and EP4 receptor antagonists and an anti-IL-6 neutralizing antibody, we determined that the observed phenotype shift is partially mediated by PGE2 and IL-6. Importantly, our system holds promise as a platform for testing therapies aimed at preventing or mitigating tumor-induced DC dysfunction. Overall, our study offers novel and relevant insights into cDC2 (dys)function in CRC that hold relevance for the design of therapeutic approaches