This paper is concerned with the quantification of the likely effect of anthropogenic climate change on the water resources of Jordan by the end of the twenty-first century. Specifically, a suite of ...hydrological models are used in conjunction with modelled outcomes from a regional climate model, HadRM3, and a weather generator to determine how future flows in the upper River Jordan and in the Wadi Faynan may change. The results indicate that groundwater will play an important role in the water security of the country as irrigation demands increase. Given future projections of reduced winter rainfall and increased near-surface air temperatures, the already low groundwater recharge will decrease further. Interestingly, the modelled discharge at the Wadi Faynan indicates that extreme flood flows will increase in magnitude, despite a decrease in the mean annual rainfall. Simulations projected no increase in flood magnitude in the upper River Jordan. Discussion focuses on the utility of the modelling framework, the problems of making quantitative forecasts and the implications of reduced water availability in Jordan.
Evidence is presented that free radical stress can directly induce physico-chemical alterations in rodent neocortical synaptosomal membrane proteins. Synaptosomes were prepared from gerbil cortical ...brain tissue and incubated with 3 mM ascorbate and various concentrations of exogenous Fe2+ for 30-240 min at 37 degrees C. Synaptosomes were then lysed and covalently labeled with the protein thiol-selective spin label MAL-6 (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-maleimidopiperdin-1-oxyl) and subjected to electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry. In separate experiments, synaptosomal membranes were labeled with the thiol-specific spin label MTS ((1-oxyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-pyrroline-3-methyl)-methanethiosulfonate), or the lipid-specific spin probe 5-NS (5-nitroxide stearate). Free radical stress induced by iron/ascorbate treatment has a rigidizing effect on the protein infrastructure of these membranes, as appraised by EPR analysis of membrane protein-bound spin label, but no change was detected in the lipid component of the membrane. These results are discussed with reference to potential oxidative mechanisms in aging and neurological disorders.
Abstract Wildfires are important contributors to atmospheric aerosols and a large source of emissions that impact regional air quality and global climate. In this study, wildfire emissions in the ...Pacific Northwest region of the United States were characterized using real-time measurements near their sources using an aircraft, and farther downwind from a fixed ground site located at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory (~ 2700 m a.s.l.). The characteristics of aerosol emissions were found to depend strongly on the modified combustion efficiency (MCE), a qualitative index of the combustion processes of a fire. Organic aerosol emissions had negative correlations with MCE, whereas the carbon oxidation state of organic aerosol increased with MCE. The relationships between the aerosol properties and MCE were consistent between fresher emissions (~1 hour old) and emissions sampled after atmospheric transport (6 - 45 hours), suggesting that organic aerosol mass loading and chemical properties were strongly influenced by combustion processes at the source and conserved to a significant extent during regional transport. These results suggest that MCE can be a useful metric for describing aerosol properties of regionally transported wildfire emissions and their impacts on regional air quality and global climate.
The electronic structure of select Pu materials is examined by means of photoemission (PES) and model calculations. We present the first photoemission results and electronic structure calculations ...for the material PuIn
3. Results for Pu materials, including the cubic delta-phase metal and the superconductor PuCoGa
5, give indication of the 5f electrons exhibiting both localized and itinerant character. These new results for PuIn
3 place this compounds also in the 5f dual nature category. The dual nature of the Pu 5f electrons demarks the boundary between localized and itinerant 5f character in the actinides.The photoemission data for
δ
-Pu, PuIn
3 and PuCoGa
5 are compared against model calculations. The calculations are a mixed level model (MLM) which is a multi-electron extension of the generalized gradient approximation. Using the MLM, one obtains good agreement for the volume and total energy minimum with 4 of 5 Pu 5f electrons localized. The calculations also agree well with the PES spectra. Other computational schemes and interpretations are also reviewed.
The semi-distributed, dynamic INCA-N model was used to simulate the behaviour of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in two Finnish research catchments. Parameter sensitivity and model structural ...uncertainty were analysed using generalized sensitivity analysis. The Mustajoki catchment is a forested upstream catchment, while the Savijoki catchment represents intensively cultivated lowlands. In general, there were more influential parameters in Savijoki than Mustajoki. Model results were sensitive to N-transformation rates, vegetation dynamics, and soil and river hydrology. Values of the sensitive parameters were based on long-term measurements covering both warm and cold years. The highest measured DIN concentrations fell between minimum and maximum values estimated during the uncertainty analysis. The lowest measured concentrations fell outside these bounds, suggesting that some retention processes may be missing from the current model structure. The lowest concentrations occurred mainly during low flow periods; so effects on total loads were small.
Mast cells (MC), blood basophils (Ba) and moncoytes (Mo) are of haemopoietic origin. Lineage‐relationships and transdifferentiation between MC and Mo, or MC and Ba, have been considered, based on ...common expression of antigens. In this study, comparative phenotypic analyses on MC, Ba and Mo and on respective cell lines were performed using monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to previously defined and novel CD antigens (CD1–130). By cluster analysis, the overall (all 130 CD) phenotypic relationships (given as similarity indices, SI), between primary cells (MC, Ba and Mo) and corresponding cell lines (HMC‐1, KU‐812, U937) were 0.716, 0.779 and 0.757, respectively. When primary cells were compared, lower SI values were found (MC versus Ba, 0.509; MC versus Mo, 0.625; Mo versus Ba, 0.698). More distant relationships were found between MC versus Ba and MC versus Mo, compared with Ba versus Mo, for adhesion receptor (R)‐, complement R‐ and cytokine R profiles. Analysis of cytokine R revealed most significant dissimilarities between MC versus Ba and MC versus Mo (SI < 0.2). Moreover, in contrast to other CD subgroups and other lineages, MC and HMC‐1 differed from each other in cytokine R expression (SI = 0.286). Cytokine R detectable on HMC‐1 but not MC were granulocyte–macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSFR)α(CD116), CD40, Apo‐1/FAS(CD95) and gp130(CD130). Cytokine R detectable on Ba but not MC, were interleukin‐3 (IL‐3)Rα(CD123), IL‐1RII(CD121b), IL‐2Rα(CD25) and CD40. In summary, MC, Ba and Mo display a unique CD profile with MC being the most distantly related cell. The most significant mismatch within a given lineage is the loss of cytokine R on mature MC as compared with normal myeloid progenitors and HMC‐1 cells.
Collagen VI-related dystrophies and myopathies (COL6-RD) are a highly variable group of disorders that form a phenotypic spectrum ranging from severe Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) via ...intermediate phenotypes to the milder Bethlem myopathy (BM). Both inter- and intra-familial variable expressivity of severity are commonly observed. We present clinical, immunohistochemical, and genetic data on four families with marked inter-generational phenotypic variability masquerading as anticipation due to parental mosaicism for a dominant mutation, with subsequent full inheritance and penetrance of the mutation in the heterozygous offspring. Additionally, we present a 5th simplex patient identified as a mosaic carrier. Parental mosaicism was confirmed in the four families through quantitative analysis of the ratio of mutant versus wild type allele in genomic DNA from various tissues; including blood, saliva, and dermal fibroblasts. Consistent with somatic mosaicism parental samples had lower ratios of mutant versus wild type allele compared to the fully heterozygote offspring, although there was notable variability of the mutant between tissues tested, ranging from 16% (saliva) to 43% (fibroblasts) in one mosaic father. This is the first report demonstrating mosaicism as a cause of intra-familial/inter-generational variability of COL6-RD, suggesting that sporadic and parental mosaicism may be more common than previously suspected.
The Role of Inflammation after Surgery for Elders study correlates novel inflammatory markers measured in blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assays, and 11C-PBR28 positron-emission tomography imaging.
...This study involved a prospective cohort design with patients who underwent elective hip and knee arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia. Sixty-five adults participated with their family members. Inflammatory biomarker assays were measured preoperatively on day 1 and postoperatively at one month.
On average, participants were 75 years old, and 72% were female. 54% underwent total knee arthroplasty, and 46% underwent total hip arthroplasty. The mean Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) Examination score was 89.3; four patients (6%) scored ≤77 points. Plasma assays were completed in 63 (97%) participants, cerebrospinal fluid assays in 61 (94%), and PET imaging in 44 (68%).
This complex study presents an innovative effort to correlate peripheral and central inflammatory biomarkers before and after major surgery in older adults. Strengths include collecting concurrent blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and positron-emission tomography with detailed clinical characterization of delirium, cognition, and functional status.
•We describe the methodology of the Role of Inflammation after Surgery for Elders Study.•This is a prospective cohort of elective hip/knee arthroplasty patients 70 years or older.•We examine inflammation in blood, cerebrospinal fluid and positron emission tomography.•We collect novel biomarkers preoperatively and one-month postoperatively.•There is clinical characterization of delirium, cognition and functional status.
The production of guanine radicals in DNA via the flash−quench technique is shown to cause the formation of covalent adducts between DNA and histone protein. In the flash−quench experiment, the ...DNA-bound intercalator Ru(phen)2dppz2+ (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, dppz = dipyridophenazine) is excited with 442 nm light and quenched oxidatively by Co(NH3)5Cl2+, methyl viologen (MV2+), or Ru(NH3)6 3+ to produce Ru(phen)2dppz3+, a strong oxidant (+1.6 V) that can oxidize a nearby guanine base (+1.3 V). The guanine radical thus produced is vulnerable to nucleophilic attack and can react with amino acid side chains to form DNA−protein cross-links. Evidence for DNA−protein cross-linking was provided by the chloroform extraction assay, a filter binding assay, and gel electrophoretic analysis. After flash−quench treatment, pUC19 plasmid DNA undergoes a dramatic decrease in mobility that is reversed upon digestion with proteinase K, as seen by agarose gel electrophoresis. In polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) experiments, the histone protein shows similar mobility shifts. Cross-linking is observed with poly(dG-dC) and mixed sequence DNA, but not with poly(dA-dT), indicating that the reaction requires guanine bases. Measurements of emission quenching indicate that for a given quencher, the amount of cross-linking is correlated to the amount of quenching. When comparing different quenchers, however, the amount of cross-linking is inversely related to the amount of quenching and decreases in the order Co(NH3)5Cl2+ > MV2+ > Ru(NH3)6 3+. This trend in cross-linking correlates instead with the lifetime of the guanine radical measured by transient absorption spectroscopy, and suggests that the cross-linking reaction requires > 100 μs. These results demonstrate that the flash−quench technique is an effective approach for the study of covalent adducts between DNA and protein formed as a result of guanine oxidation, and suggest one possible fate for oxidatively damaged DNA in vivo.
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