Organochlorine residues in two seal species from Western Iceland

Harbour seals and grey seals from Faxaflói (Western Iceland) were analyzed for contamination with organochlorines (HCB, PCBs, p,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE, chlordanes and the enantiomers of α-HCH). Although the values strongly varied, both harbour seals and grey seals on average showed comparable levels of PCBs, p,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDE and α-HCH, as well as chlordanes (ΣCD). Differences were measured in the HCB content of the seal species. The HCB/α-HCH ratio in harbour seals was <1 and in grey seals >1. The results from seals on Iceland were compared with data derived from seal samples of the Antarctic, the Arctic (Spitzbergen) and the North Sea (Germany) in order to give an insight into the global distribution of pollution with chlorinated organics.     

SARS-CoV-2 Altered Hemorheological and Hematological Parameters during One-Month Observation Period in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients

Hematological and hemorheological parameters are known to be altered in COVID-19; however, the value of combined monitoring in order to deduce disease severity is only scarcely examined. A total of 44 acute SARS-CoV-2-infected patients (aCOV) and 44 age-matched healthy controls (Con) were included. Blood of aCOV was sampled at admission (T0), and at day 2 (T2), day 5 (T5), day 10 (T10), and day 30 (T30) while blood of Con was only sampled once. Inter- and intra-group differences were calculated for hematological and hemorheological parameters. Except for mean cellular volume and mean cellular hemoglobin, all blood cell parameters were significantly different between aCOV and Con. During the acute disease state (T0–T5), hematological and hemorheological parameters were highly altered in aCOV; in particular, anemic conditions and increased immune cell response/inflammation, oxidative/nitrosative stress, decreased deformability, as well as increased aggregation, were observed. During treatment and convalescence until T30, almost all abnormal values of aCOV improved towards Con values. During the acute state of the COVID-19 disease, the hematological, as well as the hemorheological system, show fast and potentially pathological changes that might contribute to the progression of the disease, but changes appear to be largely reversible after four weeks. Measuring RBC deformability and aggregation, as well as oxidative stress induction, may be helpful in monitoring critically ill COVID-19 patients.     

FSAP Protects against Histone-Mediated Increase in Endothelial Permeability In Vitro

Factor-VII-activating protease (FSAP) is involved in the regulation of hemostasis and inflammation. Extracellular histones play a role in inflammation and the conversion of latent pro-FSAP into active FSAP. FSAP has been shown to regulate endothelial permeability, but the mechanisms are not clear. Here, we have investigated the effects of FSAP on endothelial permeability in vitro. A mixture of histones from calf thymus stimulated permeability, and the wild-type (WT) serine protease domain (SPD) of FSAP blocked this effect. WT–SPD–FSAP did not influence permeability on its own, nor that stimulated by thrombin or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A₁₆₅. Histones induced a large-scale rearrangement of the junction proteins VE-cadherin and zona occludens-1 from a clear junctional distribution to a diffuse pattern. The presence of WT–SPD–FSAP inhibited these changes. Permeability changes by histones were blocked by both TLR-2 and TLR4 blocking antibodies. Histones upregulated the expression of TLR-2, but not TLR-4, in HUVEC cells, and WT–SPD–FSAP abolished the upregulation of TLR-2 expression. An inactive variant, Marburg I (MI)–SPD–FSAP, did not have any of these effects. The inhibition of histone-mediated permeability may be an important function of FSAP with relevance to sepsis, trauma, and stroke and the need to be investigated further in in vivo experiments.     

Availability analysis and maintainability optimization of an offshore wind farm using high-level Petri nets

Forschung im Ingenieurwesen - When evaluating wind turbines, their availability as well as the operational costs are very important parameters. One factor to achieve high availabilities is the...     

Apicobasal Surfaceome Architecture Encodes for Polarized Epithelial Functionality and Depends on Tumor Suppressor PTEN

The loss of apicobasal polarity during the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a hallmark of cancer and metastasis. The key feature of this polarity in epithelial cells is the subdivision of the plasma membrane into apical and basolateral domains, with each orchestrating specific intra- and extracellular functions. Epithelial transport and signaling capacities are thought to be determined largely by the quality, quantity, and nanoscale organization of proteins residing in these membrane domains, the apicobasal surfaceomes. Despite its implications for cancer, drug uptake, and infection, our current knowledge of how the polarized surfaceome is organized and maintained is limited. Here, we used chemoproteomic surfaceome scanning to establish proteotype maps of apicobasal surfaceomes and reveal quantitative distributions of, i.e., surface proteases, phosphatases, and tetraspanins as potential key regulators of polarized cell functionality. We show further that the tumor suppressor PTEN regulates polarized surfaceome architecture and uncover a potential role in collective cell migration. Our differential surfaceome analysis provides a molecular framework to elucidate polarized protein networks regulating epithelial functions and PTEN-associated cancer progression.     

An Innovative Submerged Entry Nozzle Design for Billet and Bloom Casting

Fluid flow in the mold has a significant impact on the quality of continuously cast steel products.Since it is strongly influenced by the SEN design,attention h...     

为水泵和潜水电机留出更多空间

<正>“Halle 2020”是Frankenthal市水泵和阀门生产厂KSB公司的一个扩建项目。这一项目不仅仅增加了KSB公司的生产面积,而且也扩展了KSB公司物流中心高架立体库的现代化和存储能力。Viastore公司收到了重建工厂的合同。