In light of the large volumes of pine killed in the interior forests of British Columbia (BC) by the mountain pine beetle, many forest sector participants are keen to employ forest biomass as an ...energy source. To assess the feasibility of a wood biomass‐fired power plant in the BC interior, it is necessary to know both how much physical biomass might be available over the life of a plant and its location as transportation cost is likely to be a major operating cost for any facility. To address these issues, we construct a mathematical programming model of fiber flows in the Quesnel Timber Supply Area of BC over a 25‐year time horizon. The focus of the model is on minimizing the cost of supplying feedstock through space and time. Results indicate that over the life of the project, feedstock costs will more than double, increasing from $54.60/bone‐dry tonnes (BDt) ($0.039/kWh) to $116.14/BDt ($0.083/kWh). En raison de l’important volume de pins dévastés par le dendroctone du pin ponderosa dans les forêts de l’intérieur de la Colombie‐Britannique (BC), de nombreux participants du secteur forestier sont désireux d’utiliser la biomasse forestière comme source d’énergie. Pour évaluer la faisabilité d’une centrale alimentée à la biomasse ligneuse à l’intérieur de la Colombie‐Britannique, il faut connaître la quantité de biomasse disponible pendant la durée de vie de la centrale ainsi que l’emplacement de cette biomasse étant donné que les coûts de transport risquent de représenter des coûts d’exploitation importants pour n’importe quelle installation. Afin d’examiner ces aspects, nous avons élaboré un modèle de programmation mathématique de l’approvisionnement en matière ligneuse dans la zone d’approvisionnement forestier de Quesnel en Colombie‐Britannique, sur un horizon de 25 ans. Le modèle visait principalement à réduire le coût liéà l’approvisionnement en matière première à travers l’espace et le temps. D’après nos résultats, les coûts de la matière première feront plus que doubler au cours de la durée du projet, passant de 54,60 $/tonne anhydre (t.a.) (0,039 $/kWh) à 116,14 $/t.a. (0,083 $/kWh).
•SP can skew the differentiation of monocyte-derived DC cultured in human serum (HS) towards alternatively activated DC.•This immune regulatory phenotype is less pronounced compared to SP-treated DC ...in fetal bovine serum containing medium.•These findings highlight the importance of the serum source used in SP treated cell cultures in vitro.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are key in shaping immune responses and are recruited to the human cervix after coitus by seminal plasma (SP). SP has been shown to skew the differentiation of monocyte-derived DCs towards an anti-inflammatory profile when cultured in medium containing fetal calf serum (FCS). Here, we confirmed that SP skewed DCs cultured in fetal bovine serum (FBS) towards a tolerogenic profile. To create a setting more similar to the in vivo situations in humans, we tested the immune regulatory effect of SP on DCs in cell cultures containing human serum (HS). SP-DCs cultured in HS did show increased CD14 and decreased CD1a, indicating an inhibited maturation phenotype. Gene expression of TGF-β and IL-10 and IL-10 protein expression were elevated in LPS-activated SP-DCs, whereas IL-12p70 protein levels were decreased compared to LPS-activated control DCs. In contrast to FBS culture conditions, in the presence of HS co-cultures of SP-DCs with allogeneic peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) did not result in decreased T cell proliferation and inflammatory cytokine production. Thus, under HS culture conditions SP can skew the differentiation of monocyte-derived DCs phenotypically towards alternatively activated DCs, but this immune regulatory phenotype is functionally less pronounced compared to SP-treated DCs cultured in FBS containing medium. These findings highlight the importance of the source of the serum that is used in SP treated cell cultures in vitro.
There is a growing interest in the monitoring of complement activation, not only in clinical settings but also in experimental models. However, for rodents only a limited number of tools are ...available to assess complement activity and activation. Here we describe three ELISAs for the measurement of rat classical (CP), MB-lectin (LP) and alternative (AP) pathway activities in serum and plasma. Moreover, we optimised a soluble C5b-9 (sC5b-9) ELISA for the detection of low level complement activation in rat. We determined the conditions for correct sample handling and showed that the assays had low inter- and intra-assay variation. We applied these assays to monitor complement activation in an experimental rat model of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury. We did not observe major complement consumption following reperfusion in CP or LP, and only minor AP consumption at 24h post reperfusion. However, MBL depletion prior to ischemia/reperfusion using a monoclonal antibody, transiently and specifically inhibited 75% of LP activity and ameliorated the AP consumption at 24h. To further assess complement activation during renal IRI, we monitored serum sC5b-9 and found that it was only significantly increased 72h post-reperfusion, but not when rats were pre-treated with anti-MBL or after sham surgery. In conclusion the described assays enable sensitive, reproducible and comprehensive assessment of complement activation in experimental rat models.
Purpose Sleep problems are common in adolescents and have a negative impact on daytime functioning. However, there is a lack of well-validated adolescent sleep questionnaires. The Patient-Reported ...Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance and Sleep-Related Impairment item banks are well-validated instruments developed for and tested in adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate their structural validity in adolescents. Methods Test and retest data were collected for the Dutch-Flemish V1.0 PROMIS Sleep Disturbance (27) and Sleep-Related Impairment (16 items) item banks from 1046 adolescents (11-19 years). Cross-validation methods, Confirmatory (CFA), and Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) were used. Fit indices and factor loadings were used to improve the models. The final models were assessed for model fit using retest data. Results The one-factor Sleep Disturbance (CFI = 0.795, TLI = 0.778, RMSEA = 0.117) and Sleep-Related Impairment (CFI = 0.897, TLI = 0.882, RMSEA = 0.156) models could not be replicated in adolescents. Cross-validation resulted in a final Sleep Disturbance model of 23 and a Sleep-Related Impairment model of 11 items. Retest data CFA showed adequate fit for the Sleep-Related Impairment-11 (CFI = 0.981, TLI = 0.976, RMSEA = 0.116). The Sleep Disturbance-23 model fit indices stayed below the recommended values (CFI = 0.895, TLI = 0.885, RMSEA = 0.105). Conclusions While the PROMIS Sleep Disturbance-23 for adolescents and PROMIS Sleep-Related Impairment-11 for adolescents provide a framework to assess adolescent sleep, additional research is needed to replicate these findings in a larger and more diverse sample.
Communication between children and parents has been the subject of several studies, examining the effects of, for example, disclosure and secrecy on adolescents' social relationships and adjustment. ...Less attention has paid to adolescent deception. We developed and tested a new instrument on lying behavior in a sample of 671 parent-adolescent couples. Analyses on the psychometric properties showed that this instrument had one principal component, and high internal consistency, item-total correlations and inter-item correlations. Lying was moderately associated with other indicators of parent-child communication, the quality of the parent-child relationship, and with parenting practices. In addition, frequent lying was moderately related to behavioral problems and emotional problems.
C3 glomerulopathy is a rare renal disease that has been distinguished as a renal disease for about 10 years. It is caused by an excessive activation of the alternative complement pathway in the ...circulation, which leads to deposition of complement factor C3 in glomeruli. It is diagnosed based on clinical presentation, histological patterns in a kidney biopsy and tests of the complement pathways. It can closely resemble immune complexmediated glomerulonephritis and postinfectious glomerulonephritis. Renal failure develops in up to half of all patients within 10 years after presentation. A curative treatment is not available. Treatment relies on renoprotective measures, occasional immunosuppressive medication and experimental novel complement inhibitors. Because the disease is rare, its care and cure are concentrated in centers of expertise. Here we provide an overview of the state-ofthe-art diagnosis and treatment of C3 glomerulopathy in a center of expertise in the Netherlands.
PDF
