| 1. |
- Aad, G, et al.
(author)
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- 2015
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swepub:Mat__t
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| 2. |
- Thomas, HS, et al.
(author)
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- 2019
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swepub:Mat__t
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Barausse, Enrico, et al.
(author)
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Prospects for fundamental physics with LISA
- 2020
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In: General Relativity and Gravitation. - : SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS. - 0001-7701 .- 1572-9532. ; 52:8
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this paper, which is of programmatic rather than quantitative nature, we aim to further delineate and sharpen the future potential of the LISA mission in the area of fundamental physics. Given the very broad range of topics that might be relevant to LISA,we present here a sample of what we view as particularly promising fundamental physics directions. We organize these directions through a "science-first" approach that allows us to classify how LISA data can inform theoretical physics in a variety of areas. For each of these theoretical physics classes, we identify the sources that are currently expected to provide the principal contribution to our knowledge, and the areas that need further development. The classification presented here should not be thought of as cast in stone, but rather as a fluid framework that is amenable to change with the flow of new insights in theoretical physics.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Fowler, D., et al.
(author)
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Atmospheric composition change : Ecosystems-Atmosphere interactions
- 2009
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In: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 43:33, s. 5193-5267
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ecosystems and the atmosphere: This review describes the state of understanding the processes involved in the exchange of trace gases and aerosols between the earth's surface and the atmosphere. The gases covered include NO, NO2, HONO, HNO3, NH3, SO2, DMS, Biogenic VOC, O-3, CH4, N2O and particles in the size range 1 nm-10 mu m including organic and inorganic chemical species. The main focus of the review is on the exchange between terrestrial ecosystems, both managed and natural and the atmosphere, although some new developments in ocean-atmosphere exchange are included. The material presented is biased towards the last decade, but includes earlier work, where more recent developments are limited or absent. New methodologies and instrumentation have enabled, if not driven technical advances in measurement. These developments have advanced the process understanding and upscaling of fluxes, especially for particles, VOC and NH3. Examples of these applications include mass spectrometric methods, such as Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (AMS) adapted for field measurement of atmosphere-surface fluxes using micrometeorological methods for chemically resolved aerosols. Also briefly described are some advances in theory and techniques in micrometeorology. For some of the compounds there have been paradigm shifts in approach and application of both techniques and assessment. These include flux measurements over marine surfaces and urban areas using micrometeorological methods and the up-scaling of flux measurements using aircraft and satellite remote sensing. The application of a flux-based approach in assessment of O-3 effects on vegetation at regional scales is an important policy linked development secured through improved quantification of fluxes. The coupling of monitoring, modelling and intensive flux measurement at a continental scale within the NitroEurope network represents a quantum development in the application of research teams to address the underpinning science of reactive nitrogen in the cycling between ecosystems and the atmosphere in Europe. Some important developments of the science have been applied to assist in addressing policy questions, which have been the main driver of the research agenda, while other developments in understanding have not been applied to their wider field especially in chemistry-transport models through deficiencies in obtaining appropriate data to enable application or inertia within the modelling community. The paper identifies applications, gaps and research questions that have remained intractable at least since 2000 within the specialized sections of the paper, and where possible these have been focussed on research questions for the coming decade.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Senage, T., et al.
(author)
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The role of antibody responses against glycans in bioprosthetic heart valve calcification and deterioration
- 2022
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In: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 28, s. 283-294
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) are commonly used to replace severely diseased heart valves but their susceptibility to structural valve degeneration (SVD) limits their use in young patients. We hypothesized that antibodies against immunogenic glycans present on BHVs, particularly antibodies against the xenoantigens galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha Gal) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), could mediate their deterioration through calcification. We established a large longitudinal prospective international cohort of patients (n = 1668, 34 +/- 43 months of follow-up (0.1-182); 4,998 blood samples) to investigate the hemodynamics and immune responses associated with BHVs up to 15 years after aortic valve replacement. Early signs of SVD appeared in <5% of BHV recipients within 2 years. The levels of both anti-alpha Gal and anti-Neu5Gc IgGs significantly increased one month after BHV implantation. The levels of these IgGs declined thereafter but anti-alpha Gal IgG levels declined significantly faster in control patients compared to BHV recipients. Neu5Gc, anti-Neu5Gc IgG and complement deposition were found in calcified BHVs at much higher levels than in calcified native aortic valves. Moreover, in mice, anti-Neu5Gc antibodies were unable to promote calcium deposition on subcutaneously implanted BHV tissue engineered to lack alpha Gal and Neu5Gc antigens. These results indicate that BHVs manufactured using donor tissues deficient in alpha Gal and Neu5Gc could be less prone to immune-mediated deterioration and have improved durability. In a large cohort of patients who underwent aortic valve replacement, antibody responses to glycans present in bioprosthetic heart valves, notably galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose and N-glycolylneuraminic acid, were implicated in valve calcification and deterioration.
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| 10. |
- Arun, K. G., et al.
(author)
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New horizons for fundamental physics with LISA
- 2022
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In: Living Reviews in Relativity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1433-8351 .- 2367-3613. ; 25:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) has the potential to reveal wonders about the fundamental theory of nature at play in the extreme gravity regime, where the gravitational interaction is both strong and dynamical. In this white paper, the Fundamental Physics Working Group of the LISA Consortium summarizes the current topics in fundamental physics where LISA observations of gravitational waves can be expected to provide key input. We provide the briefest of reviews to then delineate avenues for future research directions and to discuss connections between this working group, other working groups and the consortium work package teams. These connections must be developed for LISA to live up to its science potential in these areas.
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| 11. |
- Belczynski, K., et al.
(author)
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Evolutionary roads leading to low effective spins, high black hole masses, and O1/O2 rates for LIGO/Virgo binary black holes
- 2020
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 636:A&A
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- All ten LIGO/Virgo binary black hole (BH-BH) coalescences reported following the O1/O2 runs have near-zero effective spins. There are only three potential explanations for this. If the BH spin magnitudes are large, then: (i) either both BH spin vectors must be nearly in the orbital plane or (ii) the spin angular momenta of the BHs must be oppositely directed and similar in magnitude. Then there is also the possibility that (iii) the BH spin magnitudes are small. We consider the third hypothesis within the framework of the classical isolated binary evolution scenario of the BH-BH merger formation. We test three models of angular momentum transport in massive stars: A mildly efficient transport by meridional currents (as employed in the Geneva code), an efficient transport by the Tayler-Spruit magnetic dynamo (as implemented in the MESA code), and a very-efficient transport (as proposed by Fuller et al.) to calculate natal BH spins. We allow for binary evolution to increase the BH spins through accretion and account for the potential spin-up of stars through tidal interactions. Additionally, we update the calculations of the stellar-origin BH masses, including revisions to the history of star formation and to the chemical evolution across cosmic time. We find that we can simultaneously match the observed BH-BH merger rate density and BH masses and BH-BH effective spins. Models with efficient angular momentum transport are favored. The updated stellar-mass weighted gas-phase metallicity evolution now used in our models appears to be key for obtaining an improved reproduction of the LIGO/Virgo merger rate estimate. Mass losses during the pair-instability pulsation supernova phase are likely to be overestimated if the merger GW170729 hosts a BH more massive than 50âMâŠ. We also estimate rates of black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) mergers from recent LIGO/Virgo observations. If, in fact. angular momentum transport in massive stars is efficient, then any (electromagnetic or gravitational wave) observation of a rapidly spinning BH would indicate either a very effective tidal spin up of the progenitor star (homogeneous evolution, high-mass X-ray binary formation through case A mass transfer, or a spin-up of a Wolf-Rayet star in a close binary by a close companion), significant mass accretion by the hole, or a BH formation through the merger of two or more BHs (in a dense stellar cluster).
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| 12. |
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Bellocchi, C, et al.
(author)
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Identification of a Shared Microbiomic and Metabolomic Profile in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases
- 2019
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In: Journal of clinical medicine. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0383. ; 8:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dysbiosis has been described in systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs), including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS), and primary anti-phosholipid syndrome (PAPS), however the biological implications of these associations are often elusive. Stool and plasma samples from 114 subjects, including in SLE (n = 27), SjS (n = 23), PAPs (n = 11) and undifferentiated connective tissue (UCTD, n = 26) patients, and geographically-matched healthy controls (HCs, n = 27), were collected for microbiome (16s rRNA gene sequencing) and metabolome (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) analysis to identify shared characteristics across diseases. Out of 130 identified microbial genera, a subset of 29 bacteria was able to differentiate study groups (area under receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) = 0.730 ± 0.025). A fair classification was obtained with a subset of 41 metabolic peaks out of 254 (AUROC = 0.748 ± 0.021). In both models, HCs were well separated from SADs, while UCTD largely overlapped with the other diseases. In all of the SADs pro-tolerogenic bacteria were reduced, while pathobiont genera were increased. Metabolic alterations included two clusters comprised of: (a) members of the acylcarnitine family, positively correlating with a Prevotella-enriched cluster and negatively correlating with a butyrate-producing bacteria-enriched cluster; and (b) phospholipids, negatively correlating with butyrate-producing bacteria. These findings demonstrate a strong interaction between intestinal microbiota and metabolic function in patients with SADs.
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| 17. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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In: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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| 18. |
- Barack, Leor, et al.
(author)
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Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics : a roadmap
- 2019
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In: Classical and quantum gravity. - : IOP Publishing. - 0264-9381 .- 1361-6382. ; 36:14
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'.
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| 19. |
- Batliner, A., et al.
(author)
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The PF STAR Children’s Speech Corpus
- 2005
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In: 9th European Conference on Speech Communication and Technology. ; , s. 3761-3764
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes the corpus of recordings of children's speech which was collected as part of the EU FP5 PF_STAR project. The corpus contains more than 60 hours of speech, including read and imitated native-language speech in British English, German and Swedish, read and imitated non-native-language English speech from German, Italian and Swedish children, and native-language spontaneous and emotional speech in English and German.
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| 20. |
- Buker, P, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of different stomatal conductance algorithms for ozone flux modelling
- 2005
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In: UNECE – Workshop “Critical Levels of Ozone: Further applying and developing the flux-based concept”, Obergurgl, 15-19 November 2005.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Two widely used algorithms for modelling stomatal conductance (gs) were compared in order to evaluate the approach leading to the most realistic predictions of stomatal fluxes to vegetated surfaces: a multiplicative algorithm initially developed by Jarvis (1976) and refined by Emberson et al. (2000) (DO3SE ) and a photosynthesis-based Ball&Berry-type algorithm developed by Nikolov et al. (1995) (LEAFC3). Both models were parameterised for several crop and tree species (wheat, grapevine, Scots pine, beech and birch) and have been applied to various datasets – with the main focus on wheat - representing different European regions (North, Central and South Europe). A sensitivity analysis has been carried out for both models to evaluate the dependence of gs on the meteorological parameters temperature, photosynthetic active radiation and vapour pressure deficit. Furthermore, in order to test whether a general species-specific parameterisation can account for differences in gs due to plants growing under different climatic conditions throughout Europe, the models have been re-parameterised for local meteorological conditions. A direct comparison of both models showed that the net photosynthetic-based model required more detailed meteorological (e.g. ambient CO2-concentration, dew-point temperature) and plant-physiological (e.g. Vcmax and Jmax) input parameters while not delivering a substantially higher R2 when comparing measured and modelled gs. The relative weakness of the multiplicative model lies in its dependence on the maximum stomatal conductance (gmax), whereas the photosynthesis-based model is not taking into account phenology-related changes in gs. Furthermore, the results show that an equally close relationship between gs and net photosynthetic rate throughout the entire growing season is questionable. We conclude that the multiplicative approach is favourable for calculating stomatal fluxes on a wider scale (e.g. within EMEP-deposition model), whereas the photosynthesis-based approach is a potential alternative for modelling fluxes on a local scale.
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| 21. |
- Mills, Gina, 1959, et al.
(author)
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Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Present-day tropospheric ozone distribution and trends relevant to vegetation
- 2018
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In: Elementa-Science of the Anthropocene. - : University of California Press. - 2325-1026. ; 6:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) on the current state of knowledge of ozone metrics of relevance to vegetation (TOAR-Vegetation) reports on present-day global distribution of ozone at over 3300 vegetated sites and the long-term trends at nearly 1200 sites. TOAR-Vegetation focusses on three metrics over vegetation-relevant time-periods across major world climatic zones: M12, the mean ozone during 08:00-19:59; AOT40, the accumulation of hourly mean ozone values over 40 ppb during daylight hours, and W126 with stronger weighting to higher hourly mean values, accumulated during 08:00-19:59. Although the density of measurement stations is highly variable across regions, in general, the highest ozone values (mean, 2010-14) are in mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, including southern USA, the Mediterranean basin, northern India, north, north-west and east China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. The lowest metric values reported are in Australia, New Zealand, southern parts of South America and some northern parts of Europe, Canada and the USA. Regional-scale assessments showed, for example, significantly higher AOT40 and W126 values in East Asia (EAS) than Europe (EUR) in wheat growing areas (p < 0.05), but not in rice growing areas. In NAM, the dominant trend during 1995-2014 was a significant decrease in ozone, whilst in EUR it was no change and in EAS it was a significant increase. TOAR-Vegetation provides recommendations to facilitate a more complete global assessment of ozone impacts on vegetation in the future, including: an increase in monitoring of ozone and collation of field evidence of the damaging effects on vegetation; an investigation of the effects on peri-urban agriculture and in mountain/upland areas; inclusion of additional pollutant, meteorological and inlet height data in the TOAR dataset; where not already in existence, establishing new region-specific thresholds for vegetation damage and an innovative integration of observations and modelling including stomatal uptake of the pollutant.
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| 22. |
- Nemolato, S., et al.
(author)
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Immunoreactivity for thymosin beta 4 and thymosin beta 10 in the adult rat oro-gastrointestinal tract
- 2013
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In: European Journal of Histochemistry. - : PAGEPress Publications. - 1121-760X .- 2038-8306. ; 57:2, s. 106-111
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4) and thymosin beta 10 (T beta 10) are two members of the beta-thymosin family, involved in multiple cellular activities in different organs in multiple animal species. Here we report the expression pattern of T beta 4 and T beta 10 in rat tissues, in the gut and in annexed glands. The two peptide were differently expressed: T beta 4 was absent in salivary glands whereas T beta 10 was expressed in parotid and in submandibular glands. T beta 4 was mildly expressed in the tongue and in the oesophagus, where T beta 10 was absent. A similar expression was found in the stomach, ileum and colon mucosa. In pancreas T beta 4 reactivity was restricted to the Langerhans islet cells; T beta 4 was also detected in the exocrine cells. Both peptide were not expressed in liver cells. When the rat expression pattern in rat organs was compared to reactivity for T beta 4 and T beta 10 in humans, marked differences were found. Our data clearly indicate a species-specific expression of T beta 4 and T beta 10, characterized by the actual unpredictability of the expression of these peptides in different cells and tissues. The common high expression of T beta 4 in mast cells, both in humans and in rats, represents one of the few similarities between these two species.
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
- Tang, Angela Che Ing, et al.
(author)
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Detection and attribution of an anomaly in terrestrial photosynthesis in Europe during the COVID-19 lockdown
- 2023
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 903
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake by plant photosynthesis, referred to as gross primary production (GPP) at the ecosystem level, is sensitive to environmental factors, including pollutant exposure, pollutant uptake, and changes in the scattering of solar shortwave irradiance (SWin) − the energy source for photosynthesis. The 2020 spring lockdown due to COVID-19 resulted in improved air quality and atmospheric transparency, providing a unique opportunity to assess the impact of air pollutants on terrestrial ecosystem functioning. However, detecting these effects can be challenging as GPP is influenced by other meteorological drivers and management practices. Based on data collected from 44 European ecosystem-scale CO2 flux monitoring stations, we observed significant changes in spring GPP at 34 sites during 2020 compared to 2015–2019. Among these, 14 sites showed an increase in GPP associated with higher SWin, 10 sites had lower GPP linked to atmospheric and soil dryness, and seven sites were subjected to management practices. The remaining three sites exhibited varying dynamics, with one experiencing colder and rainier weather resulting in lower GPP, and two showing higher GPP associated with earlier spring melts. Analysis using the regional atmospheric chemical transport model (LOTOS-EUROS) indicated that the ozone (O3) concentration remained relatively unchanged at the research sites, making it unlikely that O3 exposure was the dominant factor driving the primary production anomaly. In contrast, SWin increased by 9.4 % at 36 sites, suggesting enhanced GPP possibly due to reduced aerosol optical depth and cloudiness. Our findings indicate that air pollution and cloudiness may weaken the terrestrial carbon sink by up to 16 %. Accurate and continuous ground-based observations are crucial for detecting and attributing subtle changes in terrestrial ecosystem functioning in response to environmental and anthropogenic drivers.
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