Validation of a Horizontal Standard for the Determination of Specific Electrical Conductivity (EC) in Soils, Sludge and Treated Biowaste in a European Intercomparison Exercise

Project HORIZONTAL is interdisciplinary aiming at a harmonisation and horizontal standardisation of test procedures, in particular for sludge, soils and biowastes. In the context of this standardization project, a series of draft technical specification were designed upon an extensive desk study, fine-tuned after expert consultations and finally validated in international intercomparisons exercise. This report summarises the work performed within the validation study of the draft standard for the determination of specific electrical conductivity (EC) in soils, sludge and treated bio-waste using gravimetric method. It further explains the underlying statistical concept for the calculation of reproducibility and repeatability from intercomparisons data. In addition all single values, results of the statistical evaluation as well as background information on the validation materials used are described and explained.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Validation of a Horizontal Standard for the Determination of pH in Soils, Sludge and Treated Biowaste in a European Intercomparison Exercise

Project HORIZONTAL is interdisciplinary aiming at a harmonisation and horizontal standardisation of test procedures, in particular for sludge, soils and biowastes. In the context of this standardization project, a series of draft technical specification were designed upon an extensive desk study, fine-tuned after expert consultations and finally validated in international intercomparisons exercise. This report summarises the work performed within the validation study of the draft standard for the determination of pH in soils, sludge and treated bio-waste. It further explains the underlying statistical concept for the calculation of reproducibility and repeatability from intercomparisons data. In addition all single values, results of the statistical evaluation as well as background information on the validation materials used are described and explained.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Brain region-specific amyloid plaque-associated myelin lipid loss, APOE deposition and disruption of the myelin sheath in familial Alzheimer\u27s disease mice

There is emerging evidence that amyloid beta (A beta) aggregates forming neuritic plaques lead to impairment of the lipid-rich myelin sheath and glia. In this study, we examined focal myelin lipid alterations and the disruption of the myelin sheath associated with amyloid plaques in a widely used familial Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) mouse model; 5xFAD. This AD mouse model has A beta(42) peptide-rich plaque deposition in the brain parenchyma. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry of coronal brain tissue sections revealed focal A beta plaque-associated depletion of multiple myelin-associated lipid species including sulfatides, galactosylceramides, and specific plasmalogen phopshatidylethanolamines in the hippocampus, cortex, and on the edges of corpus callosum. Certain phosphatidylcholines abundant in myelin were also depleted in amyloid plaques on the edges of corpus callosum. Further, lysophosphatidylethanolamines and lysophosphatidylcholines, implicated in neuroinflammation, were found to accumulate in amyloid plaques. Double staining of the consecutive sections with fluoromyelin and amyloid-specific antibody revealed amyloid plaque-associated myelin sheath disruption on the edges of the corpus callosum which is specifically correlated with plaque-associated myelin lipid loss only in this region. Further, apolipoprotein E, which is implicated in depletion of sulfatides in AD brain, is deposited in all the A beta plaques which suggest apolipoprotein E might mediate sulfatide depletion as a consequence of an immune response to A beta deposition. This high-spatial resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry study in combination with (immuno) fluorescence staining of 5xFAD mouse brain provides new understanding of morphological, molecular and immune signatures of A beta plaque pathology-associated myelin lipid loss and myelin degeneration in a brain region-specific manner

Bis(μ-N-benzyl-N-methyl­dithio­carbamato)-1:2κ3 S,S′:S′;1:2κ3 S:S,S′-bis­[bis­(N-benzyl-N-methyl­dithio­carbamato-κ2 S,S′)thallium(III)]

The molecule of the dinuclear title compound, [Tl2(C9H10NS2)6], possesses a crystallographically imposed centre of symmetry. Each TlIII atom is seven-coordinated by S atoms of four different dithio­carbamate anions in a distorted penta­gonal-bipyramidal coordination geometry. The crystal structure is stabilized by a C—H⋯S hydrogen-bond inter­action linking complex mol­ecules into chains running parallel to the b axis. Intramolecular C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds are also present

Dual polarity MALDI imaging mass spectrometry on the same pixel points reveals spatial lipid localizations at high-spatial resolutions in rat small intestine

Sensitive laser desorption/ionization obtained via a sublimation-coated 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (1,5-DAN) matrix allowed dual polarity MALDI-IMS analysis on the same pixel points across the jejunal mucosal region in rat small intestine which yielded high-spatial-resolution (10 μm) ion images of several lipid species correlated with the same histological features

Patterns of language and auditory dysfunction in 6-year-old children with epilepsy

In a previous study we reported difficulty with expressive language and visuoperceptual ability in preschool children with epilepsy and otherwise normal development. The present study analysed speech and language dysfunction for each individual in relation to epilepsy variables, ear preference, and intelligence in these children and described their auditory function. Twenty 6-year-old children with epilepsy (14 females, 6 males; mean age 6:5 y, range 6 y–6 y 11 mo) and 30 reference children without epilepsy (18 females, 12 males; mean age 6:5 y, range 6 y–6 y 11 mo) were assessed for language and auditory ability. Low scores for the children with epilepsy were analysed with respect to speech-language domains, type of epilepsy, site of epileptiform activity, intelligence, and language laterality. Auditory attention, perception, discrimination, and ear preference were measured with a dichotic listening test, and group comparisons were performed. Children with left-sided partial epilepsy had extensive language dysfunction. Most children with partial epilepsy had phonological dysfunction. Language dysfunction was also found in children with generalized and unclassified epilepsies. The children with epilepsy performed significantly worse than the reference children in auditory attention, perception of vowels and discrimination of consonants for the right ear and had more left ear advantage for vowels, indicating undeveloped language laterality

Distinct Cholesterol Localization in Glioblastoma Multiforme Revealed by Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults and is highly resistant to chemo- and radiotherapies. GBM has been associated with alterations in lipid contents, but lipid metabolism reprogramming in tumor cells is not fully elucidated. One of the key hurdles is to localize the lipid species that are correlated with tumor growth and invasion. A better understanding of the localization of abnormal lipid metabolism and its vulnerabilities may open up to novel therapeutic approaches. Here, we use time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to spatially probe the lipid composition in a GBM biopsy from two regions with different histopathologies: one region with most cells of uniform size and shape, the homogeneous part, and the other with cells showing a great variation in size and shape, the heterogeneous part. Our results reveal elevated levels of cholesterol, diacylglycerols, and some phosphatidylethanolamine in the homogeneous part, while the heterogeneous part was dominated by a variety of fatty acids, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol species. We also observed a high expression of cholesterol in the homogeneous tumor region to be associated with large cells but not with macrophages. Our findings suggest that ToF-SIMS can distinguish in lipid distribution between parts within a human GBM tumor, which can be linked to different molecular mechanisms

Hypothermia Due to an Ascending Impairment of Shivering in Hyperacute Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis in the Lewis Rat

Severe hypothermia and an ascending impairment of shivering are previously undescribed clinical signs in hyperacute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the Lewis rat. These occurred in hyperacute EAE induced by inoculation with guinea pig spinal cord homogenate and heat-killed Bordetella pertussis. Hypothermia was first detected on day 6-7 post-inoculation, within 12-24 h of the onset of neurological signs, and became more severe as the disease progressed. Rectal temperatures less than or equal to 30 degrees C were common at ambient temperatures of 19-22 degrees C. Shivering was assessed by palpation and by cold tremor electromyography. Shivering was absent in the tail by day 6-7 post-inoculation. The impairment then progressed to affect the hindlimbs, thorax and occasionally the forelimbs. Shivering was absent in hindlimbs with only mild or moderate weakness. Histological studies revealed perivascular inflammation with polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cells, oedema, fibrin deposition, haemorrhage, primary demyelination and axonal degeneration in the spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia and spinal roots. The brainstem was also involved but the cerebral hemispheres, including the hypothalamus, were spared. The close relationship between the severity of hypothermia and the extent of shivering impairment indicates that reduced shivering is an important cause of hypothermia in hyperacute EAE. It is concluded that this impairment of shivering is due not to hypothalamic damage but to lesions elsewhere in the central and peripheral nervous systems

A Natural Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor Autocrine Loop in Myoblast Cells and the Effect of the Constitutive Met Kinase Activation on Myogenic Differentiation

As a rule, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is produced by mesenchymal cells, while its receptor, the tyrosine kinase encoded by the met proto-oncogene, is expressed by the neighboring epithelial cells in a canonical paracrine fashion. In the present work we show that both HGF/SF and met are coexpressed by undifferentiated C2 mouse myoblasts. In growing cells, the autocrine loop is active as the receptor exhibits a constitutive phosphorylation on tyrosine that can be abrogated by exogenously added anti-HGF/SF neutralizing antibodies. The transcription of HGF/SF and met genes is downregulated when myoblasts stop proliferating and differentiate. The coexpression of HGF/SF and met genes is not exclusive to C2 cells since it has been assessed also in other myogenic cell lines and in mouse primary satellite cells, suggesting that HGF/SF could play a role in muscle development through an autocrine way

Body fat mass and the proportion of very large adipocytes in pregnant women are associated with gestational insulin resistance.

Pregnancy is accompanied by fat gain and insulin resistance. Changes in adipose tissue morphology and function during pregnancy and factors contributing to gestational insulin resistance are incompletely known. We sought to characterize adipose tissue in trimesters 1 and 3 (T1/T3) in normal weight (NW) and obese pregnant women, and identify adipose tissue-related factors associated with gestational insulin resistance