Microscale models and urban heat island studies: a systematic review.

Urban climate analysis usually uses data from weather stations, traverse, or satellite images. However, this methodology also has its limitations, since the series of data for climate monitoring can be scarce. Another option that has been earning attention in recent years is numeric models, which perform simulations in urban climate.

Preferred temperature in the warmth of cities: Body size, sex and development stage matter more than urban climate in a ground-dwelling spider.

Most ectotherms rely on behavioural thermoregulation to maintain body temperatures close to their physiological optimum. Hence, ectotherms can drastically limit their exposure to thermal extremes by selecting a narrower range of temperatures, which includes their preferred temperature (Tpref). Despite evidence that behavioural thermoregulation can be adjusted by phenotypic plasticity or constrained by natural selection, intraspecific Tpref variations across environmental gradients remain overlooked as compared to other thermal traits like thermal tolerance.

CBP-HSF2 structural and functional interplay in Rubinstein-Taybi neurodevelopmental disorder.

Patients carrying autosomal dominant mutations in the histone/lysine acetyl transferases CBP or EP300 develop a neurodevelopmental disorder: Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RSTS). The biological pathways underlying these neurodevelopmental defects remain elusive. Here, we unravel the contribution of a stress-responsive pathway to RSTS.

Role of heat shock transcription factor 2 in the NMDA-dependent neuroplasticity induced by chronic ethanol intake in mouse hippocampus.

Ethanol consumption impairs learning and memory through disturbances of NMDA-type glutamate receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity (long-term depression [LTD] and long-term potentiation [LTP]) in the hippocampus. Recently, we demonstrated that two ethanol binge-like episodes in young adult rats selectively blocked NMDA-LTD in hippocampal slices, increased NMDA receptor sensitivity to a GluN2B subunit antagonist, and induced cognitive deficits. Here, using knockout adult mice, we show that a stress-responsive transcription factor of the heat shock factor family, HSF2, which is involved in the perturbation of brain development induced by ethanol, participates in these processes.