Deposition of Smoke Particles in Human Airways with Realistic Waveform

Exposure to toxic particles from smoke generated either from bush fire, stable burning, or direct smoking is very harmful to our health. The tiny particles easily penetrate deep into the lungs after exposure and damage the airways. Tobacco smoking causes the direct emission of 2.6 million tons of CO2 and 5.2 million tons of methane annually into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, it is one of the significant contributors to various respiratory diseases leading to lung cancer. These particles’ deposition in the human airway is computed in the present article for refining our understanding of the adverse health effects due to smoke particle inhalation, especially cigarette smoke. Until recently, little work has been reported to account for the transient flow pattern of cigarette smoking. Consideration of transient flow may change the deposition pattern of the particle. A high-resolution CT scan image of the respiratory tract model consisting of the oral cavity, throat, trachea, and first to sixth generations of the lungs helps predict cigarette smoke particle (CSP) deposition. With the same scan, a realistic geometric model of the human airways of an adult subject is used to simulate the transport of air and particle. The CSP deposition is determined at different locations from the oral cavity to the sixth generation of the bronchi. In addition, an unsteady breathing curve indicative of realistic smoking behavior is utilized to represent the breathing conditions accurately. The discrete phase model (DPM) technique is used to determine smoke particle deposition in the human airways. It is found that the deposition increases with the size of the smoke particle. Particles tend to deposit in the oral cavity around the bifurcation junction of the airways. The deposition fraction of CSP with the realistic waveform of smoking is found to be smaller compared to that during the stable flow condition. It is also observed that the fine particles (0.1–1.0 micron) escape to lower generations, leading to higher deposition of fine particles in the deeper airways. The outcome of the study is helpful for understanding smoke-related pulmonary complications

Bridging the demand and the offer in data science

During the last several years, we have observed an exponential increase in the demand for Data Scientists in the job market. As a result, a number of trainings, courses, books, and university educational programs (both at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels) have been labeled as “Big data” or “Data Science”; the fil‐rouge of each of them is the aim at forming people with the right competencies and skills to satisfy the business sector needs. In this paper, we report on some of the exercises done in analyzing current Data Science education offer and matching with the needs of the job markets to propose a scalable matching service, ie, COmpetencies ClassificatiOn (E‐CO‐2), based on Data Science techniques. The E‐CO‐2 service can help to extract relevant information from Data Science–related documents (course descriptions, job Ads, blogs, or papers), which enable the comparison of the demand and offer in the field of Data Science Education and HR management, ultimately helping to establish the profession of Data Scientist.publishedVersio

Multinational and large national corporations and climateadaptation: are we asking the right questions? A review ofcurrent knowledge and a new research perspective

Adapting to climate change requires the engagement of all actors in society. Until recently, the predominant research focus has been on governments, communities and the third sector as key actors in the adaptation process. Yet, there is a growing emphasis internationally on understanding the role of and the need to engage businesses in adaptation given their potential to finance projects, develop technologies and innovative solutions, and enhance the scale and cost-effectiveness of certain adaptation measures. Large national and multinational corporations are among the key actors in this respect. Already, many of these corporations are purportedly taking steps to adapt their operations to climate change. Some stated reasons for their engagement include minimising potential impacts on value chains, improving resource efficiency, enhancing production of sustainable raw materials, and supporting customers’, suppliers’ and communities’ climate change adaptation efforts. However, there is a paucity of work analysing adaptation actions by these corporations, their motivations and contribution to broader adaptation and climate resilient development efforts, as well as possible instances of maladaptation. We apply a three-tier framework on drivers, responses and outcomes to examine the state of knowledge according to recent literature on private sector and corporate adaptation to climate change. Our review highlights that the literature on the impact and outcomes of corporate adaptation actions is sparse and we consider the implications for future research. Our analysis concludes with a reflection on the relevance of corporate-led adaptation – for the companies themselves, policy-makers at all scales, as well as society at large

The efficacy of a comprehensive lifestyle modification programme based on yoga in the management of bronchial asthma: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a substantial body of evidence on the efficacy of yoga in the management of bronchial asthma. Many studies have reported, as the effects of yoga on bronchial asthma, significant improvements in pulmonary functions, quality of life and reduction in airway hyper-reactivity, frequency of attacks and medication use. In addition, a few studies have attempted to understand the effects of yoga on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) or exercise tolerance capacity. However, none of these studies has investigated any immunological mechanisms by which yoga improves these variables in bronchial asthma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted on 57 adult subjects with mild or moderate bronchial asthma who were allocated randomly to either the yoga (intervention) group (n = 29) or the wait-listed control group (n = 28). The control group received only conventional care and the yoga group received an intervention based on yoga, in addition to the conventional care. The intervention consisted of 2-wk supervised training in lifestyle modification and stress management based on yoga followed by closely monitored continuation of the practices at home for 6-wk. The outcome measures were assessed in both the groups at 0 wk (baseline), 2, 4 and 8 wk by using Generalized Linear Model (GLM) repeated measures followed by post-hoc analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the yoga group, there was a steady and progressive improvement in pulmonary function, the change being statistically significant in case of the first second of forced expiratory volume (FEV₁) at 8 wk, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) at 2, 4 and 8 wk as compared to the corresponding baseline values. There was a significant reduction in EIB in the yoga group. However, there was no corresponding reduction in the urinary prostaglandin D₂metabolite (11β prostaglandin F2α) levels in response to the exercise challenge. There was also no significant change in serum eosinophilic cationic protein levels during the 8-wk study period in either group. There was a significant improvement in Asthma Quality of Life (AQOL) scores in both groups over the 8-wk study period. But the improvement was achieved earlier and was more complete in the yoga group. The number-needed-to-treat worked out to be 1.82 for the total AQOL score. An improvement in total AQOL score was greater than the minimal important difference and the same outcome was achieved for the sub-domains of the AQOL. The frequency of rescue medication use showed a significant decrease over the study period in both the groups. However, the decrease was achieved relatively earlier and was more marked in the yoga group than in the control group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present RCT has demonstrated that adding the mind-body approach of yoga to the predominantly physical approach of conventional care results in measurable improvement in subjective as well as objective outcomes in bronchial asthma. The trial supports the efficacy of yoga in the management of bronchial asthma. However, the preliminary efforts made towards working out the mechanism of action of the intervention have not thrown much light on how yoga works in bronchial asthma.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN00815962</p

The inner centromere is a biomolecular condensate scaffolded by the chromosomal passenger complex.

The inner centromere is a region on every mitotic chromosome that enables specific biochemical reactions that underlie properties, such as the maintenance of cohesion, the regulation of kinetochores and the assembly of specialized chromatin, that can resist microtubule pulling forces. The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) is abundantly localized to the inner centromeres and it is unclear whether it is involved in non-kinase activities that contribute to the generation of these unique chromatin properties. We find that the borealin subunit of the CPC drives phase separation of the CPC in vitro at concentrations that are below those found on the inner centromere. We also provide strong evidence that the CPC exists in a phase-separated state at the inner centromere. CPC phase separation is required for its inner-centromere localization and function during mitosis. We suggest that the CPC combines phase separation, kinase and histone code-reading activities to enable the formation of a chromatin body with unique biochemical activities at the inner centromere