Temporal stability of values (environmental preferences) is usually considered to be an indicator of the reliability of a valuation instrument because the values can be “reproduced” by follow-up ...experiments. The objective of this paper is to test temporal stability of individual preferences for river restoration by employing two identical choice experiments with a time difference of one year. We compared the results of two surveys carried out on the stretch of the Danube River between the Austrian capital of Vienna and the border to the Slovak Republic in 2007 and 2008. The choice experiment method considered economic costs and benefits of ecological improvements along the river, in order to value environmental resources. Using a multinomial logit and a mixed logit model for the two samples and a pooled sample, we found that preferences and willingness-to-pay estimates for program attributes are not sensitive to time. The results suggest that, in the absence of an extreme event, individual preferences are robust over a short time period.
► Temporal stability of values is usually considered as an indicator of the reliability of an economic valuation instrument. ► We compare the results of two identical surveys eliciting preferences for river restoration. ► Preferences respectively willing-to-pay estimates for program attributes are not sensitive to time. ► The results suggest that without an extreme event individual preferences are robust at least over a short time period.
Increased arterial stiffness, determined invasively, has been shown to predict a higher risk of coronary atherosclerosis. However, invasive techniques are of limited value for screening and risk ...stratification in larger patient groups.
We prospectively enrolled 465 consecutive, symptomatic men undergoing coronary angiography for the assessment of suspected coronary artery disease. Arterial stiffness and wave reflections were quantified noninvasively using applanation tonometry of the radial artery with a validated transfer function to generate the corresponding ascending aortic pressure waveform. Augmented pressure (AP) was defined as the difference between the second and the first systolic peak, and augmentation index (AIx) was AP expressed as a percentage of the pulse pressure. In univariate analysis, a higher AIx was associated with an increased risk for coronary artery disease (OR, 4.06 for the difference between the first and the fourth quartile 1.72 to 9.57; P<0.01). In multivariate analysis, after controlling for age, height, presence of hypertension, HDL cholesterol, and medications, the association with coronary artery disease risk remained significant (OR, 6.91; P<0.05). The results were exclusively driven by an increase in risk with premature vessel stiffening in the younger patient group (up to 60 years of age), with an unadjusted OR between AIx quartiles I and IV of 8.25 (P<0.01) and a multiple-adjusted OR between these quartiles of 16.81 (P<0.05).
AIx and AP, noninvasively determined manifestations of arterial stiffening and increased wave reflections, are strong, independent risk markers for premature coronary artery disease.
Aims Increased arterial wave reflections are associated with the presence and extent of coronary atherosclerosis and with cardiovascular mortality in selected populations. We prospectively evaluated ...their prognostic value in the short- and long-term following percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). Methods and results We non-invasively quantified wave reflections expressed as augmentation index corrected for heart rate of 75 b.p.m. (AIx@75) using applanation tonometry of the radial artery and a validated transfer function to obtain the corresponding aortic values in 262 patients undergoing PCI. During 2-year follow-up, 61 patients reached the primary endpoint death, myocardial infarction (MI), and restenosis. Increasing tertiles of Alx@75 were related to the rate of patients reaching the primary endpoint 15.2, 20 and 35.3%, respectively (P=0.001), as well as the secondary endpoints total mortality, myocardial infarction and death plus myocardial infarction (RR for the third vs. the first tertile 4.33, 3.25 and 3.46, respectively, P<0.05). In a multivariable Cox-regression model, AIx@75 added prognostic value above and beyond clinical risk factors, angiographic variables, and medications (RR 1.8, 95%CI 1.18–2.76 per increasing AIx@75-tertile, P<0.01). Conclusion Increased arterial wave reflections are independently associated with an increased risk for severe short- and long-term cardiovascular events in patients undergoing PCI.
Assessing the interfacial strength of multilayered structures is crucial to ensure the reliability of such components. Two widely used tests, four-point bending (4PB) and the stressed overlayer (SOL) ...technique, are juxtaposed and employed in this study to determine adhesion of WTi on borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) implemented in a model multilayer material stack with representative materials encountered in microelectronic applications including silicon, ductile metallic films and soft polyimide layers. The applicability and reproducibility of both methods is discussed in this paper including a detailed analysis of the stress evolution of the delaminating WTi using X-ray diffraction. While both adhesion measurement techniques reveal comparable adhesion energies for the WTi-BPSG interface, namely (9.4 ± 0.6) J/m2 and (10.1 ± 1.0) J/m2 for 4PB and SOL, respectively, we come to the conclusion that 4PB allows to integrally test the entire stack on a larger scale and SOL allows to determine the weakest site of the interface on a local scale. Both suggested methods are promising for future sub-micrometer thin film designs in complex multilayered structures since they are easy to perform and allow for a good statistical output of the results.
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•A model multimaterial stack was designed to integrally test critical interfaces in microelectronic devices.•Using 4 point bending the weakest interface, WTi-BPSG, was identified revealing an energy release rate of (9.4±0.6) J/m2.•The WTi-BPSG adhesion was also determined using a stressed overlayer on top of WTi leading to the mixed mode adhesion energy (10.1±1.0) J/m2.•XRD measurements of the WTi revealed similar stresses regardless of layer setup, allowing a comparison of these test techniques.
DExD/H box RNA helicases, such as the RIG-I-like receptors (RLR), are important components of the innate immune system. Here we demonstrate a pivotal and sex-specific role for the heterosomal ...isoforms of the DEAD box RNA helicase DDX3 in the immune system. Mice lacking DDX3X during hematopoiesis showed an altered leukocyte composition in bone marrow and spleen and a striking inability to combat infection with Listeria monocytogenes. Alterations in innate immune responses resulted from decreased effector cell availability and function as well as a sex-dependent impairment of cytokine synthesis. Thus, our data provide further in vivo evidence for an essential contribution of a non-RLR DExD/H RNA helicase to innate immunity and suggest it may contribute to sex-related differences in resistance to microbes and resilience to inflammatory disease.
The last common ancestor of cephalopods and vertebrates lived about 580 million years ago, yet coleoid cephalopods, comprising squid, cuttlefish and octopus, have evolved an extraordinary behavioural ...repertoire that includes learned behaviour and tool utilization. These animals also developed innovative advanced defence mechanisms such as camouflage and ink release. They have evolved unique life cycles and possess the largest invertebrate nervous systems. Thus, studying coleoid cephalopods provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into the evolution and development of large centralised nervous systems. As non-model species, molecular and genetic tools are still limited. However, significant insights have already been gained to deconvolve embryonic brain development. Even though coleoid cephalopods possess a typical molluscan circumesophageal bauplan for their central nervous system, aspects of its development are reminiscent of processes observed in vertebrates as well, such as long-distance neuronal migration. This review provides an overview of embryonic coleoid cephalopod research focusing on the cellular and molecular aspects of neurogenesis, migration and patterning. Additionally, we summarize recent work on neural cell type diversity in embryonic and hatchling cephalopod brains. We conclude by highlighting gaps in our knowledge and routes for future research.
The ladder snake Zamenis scalaris was first reported in 2006 in Formentera (Balearic Islands, Spain), until then a snake‐free Mediterranean island. Since 2016, intense control campaigns have been ...carried out and, for the first time, snake captures over 2017–2020 have been used to analyze the sex ratio, age, fat percentage, population density, and seasonality of this invasive population. The male‐biased sex ratio found in the present work could be the result of capture biases caused by different detection probabilities between sexes. A reduction of snake body length over time was observed, which could indicate a depletion of the larger snakes due to intense snake capture. The highest capture frequencies of both sexes were reported in May and June, coinciding with the mate searching period in the species native range and indicating that snakes increase their movements during this period. Size‐specific survivorship curves indicated a drop in survivorship at medium sizes, which suggested a survival cost associated with reproduction, presumably due to increased mortality during the mating season. Population density decreased from 1.812 snakes/ha in 2017 to 0.669 snakes/ha in 2020. Evidence obtained in the present work has allowed to evaluate the main ecological aspects of Z. scalaris and the current state of the population of this invasive snake on the island of Formentera. Results showed that the population is well established in Formentera, but prolonged control campaigns have caused its decline. This study becomes a starting point to improve the management and control programs of invasive snake populations in the Balearic Islands. Long‐term control as well as the improvement of the detection and capture of adult females are strongly recommended to attempt the eradication of Z. scalaris in Formentera.
The manuscript analyzes the structure, dynamics, and activity period of an introduced population of ladder snake Zamenis scalaris on the island of Formentera. As demographic studies had not been carried out on this exotic colubrid on the Balearic Islands to date, all the results obtained reveal essential information not only to assess the main ecological aspects of Z. scalaris and the current state of the population on Formentera but also to implement effective management measures and improve the ones already applied. This study becomes a starting point to improve the management and control programs of invasive snake populations on the Balearic Islands and worldwide.
Environmental microbial triggers shape the development and functionality of the immune system. Alveolar macrophages (AMs), tissue-resident macrophages of the lungs, are in constant and direct contact ...with inhaled particles and microbes. Such exposures likely impact AM reactivity to subsequent challenges by immunological imprinting mechanisms referred to as trained immunity. Here, we investigated whether a ubiquitous microbial compound has the potential to induce AM training in vivo. We discovered that intranasal exposure to ambient amounts of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced a pronounced AM memory response, characterized by enhanced reactivity upon pneumococcal challenge. Exploring the mechanistic basis of AM training, we identified a critical role of type 1 interferon signaling and found that inhibition of fatty acid oxidation and glutaminolysis significantly attenuated the training effect. Notably, adoptive transfer of trained AMs resulted in increased bacterial loads and tissue damage upon subsequent pneumococcal infection. In contrast, intranasal pre-exposure to LPS promoted bacterial clearance, highlighting the complexity of stimulus-induced immune responses, which likely involve multiple cell types and may depend on the local immunological and metabolic environment. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the profound impact of ambient microbial exposure on pulmonary immune memory and reveal tissue-specific features of trained immunity.
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Quantification of thin film adhesion to their substrates is crucial to ascertain reliable multi-material components, which are typically encountered in technologically relevant structures such as ...microelectronic devices. Metal-polymer interfaces have gained increased attention in the past since they open a new research field towards developing flexible electronic devices, yet their quantification is often experimentally challenging since standard routes to assess adhesion such as nanoindentation-based techniques or four-point bending may not be applicable due to lack of rigidity. In the present study interface adhesion of nominally 150 nm thin WTi films sputtered onto polyimide, part of a multi-material stack consisting of brittle and compliant materials, was determined experimentally. Upon contactless removal of the bilayer by etching a sacrificial layer, originally part of the multilayer stack, the WTi film showed cracks and buckles, which could be characterized by atomic force and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Hence, two models to quantify adhesion were compared: the model of tensile induced delamination – typically employed for metal films on compliant substrates – and the model of Hutchinson and Suo, which is usually applied on spontaneously formed, straight buckles. The first model reveals adhesion values for the native WTi-polyimide interface of 2.4 ± 0.8 J/m2 and the latter model 4.7 ± 2.3 J/m2. The slight difference in adhesion results, which are both rooted in the same theory, could be rationalized by the fact that the model for tensile induced delamination gives a measure of the lower bound of the adhesion energy. The overall rather lower adhesion values could be explained by additional transmission electron microscopy investigations conducted on the cross section of the interface, which reveals no interlinking morphology and a flat interface.
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•Adhesion of unconditioned WTi-PI interface was determined with spontaneous buckles.•Two adhesion models based on Euler theory were compared on same buckles.•WTi-PI adhesion compares to other native metal-polymer interfaces (2.4–4.7 J/m2).•Sharp interface structure and film chemistry were evaluated with TEM.•Interface structure and chemistry feasibly control adhesion energy.
Tail breakage is an important anti-predator mechanism in snake populations, which can be used as a proxy for predation intensity as natural observations of predator–prey interactions are scarce. ...Frequency of tail breakage was calculated for two Iberian colubrids recently introduced in the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean, Spain): the Horseshoe Whip Snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis (Linnaeus, 1758)) in Eivissa and the Ladder Snake (Zamenis scalaris (Schinz, 1812)) in Formentera. The effect of sex, life stage, dorsal coloration pattern, body length, and body condition on frequency of tail breakage and on remaining subcaudal scale pairs were analyzed and compared between the indigenous range and the invaded islands. An increase of the frequency of tail breakage with body size was found, supporting a size-related effect, which also occurs in the indigenous range. Frequency of tail breakage of H. hippocrepis was lower in Eivissa when compared with the original area, whereas in Formentera, Z. scalaris showed a higher frequency, which could be related to the different predator community on each island compared with the mainland. The study of the main ecological aspects of these recently introduced species may allow one to assess their potential impact on insular ecosystems and their indigenous biodiversity, as well as to promote future control actions in these areas previously free of snakes.
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