Enhanced CH emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires.

Monitoring methane (CH) emissions from terrestrial ecosystems is essential for assessing the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors leading to climate change and shaping global climate goals. Fires are a significant source of atmospheric CH, with the increasing frequency of megafires amplifying their impact. Global fire emissions exhibit large spatiotemporal variations, making the magnitude and dynamics difficult to characterize accurately.

Record-high CO emissions from boreal fires in 2021.

Extreme wildfires are becoming more common and increasingly affecting Earth's climate. Wildfires in boreal forests have attracted much less attention than those in tropical forests, although boreal forests are one of the most extensive biomes on Earth and are experiencing the fastest warming. We used a satellite-based atmospheric inversion system to monitor fire emissions in boreal forests.

[Guided discontinuation of antidepressants: approach and first results of a Dutch multidisciplinary outpatient clinic].

Background: Discontinuation of antidepressant medication can be difficult due to withdrawal symptoms and relapse risk. Scientific evidence on the questions of who, when, and how to stop antidepressants is limited. In Amsterdam a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic was started to provide advice and guidance.

Vast CO release from Australian fires in 2019-2020 constrained by satellite.

Southeast Australia experienced intensive and geographically extensive wildfires during the 2019-2020 summer season. The fires released substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, existing emission estimates based on fire inventories are uncertain, and vary by up to a factor of four for this event.

Production of long-chain hydroxy fatty acids by Starmerella bombicola.

To decrease our dependency for the diminishing source of fossils resources, bio-based alternatives are being explored for the synthesis of commodity and high-value molecules. One example in this ecological initiative is the microbial production of the biosurfactant sophorolipids by the yeast Starmerella bombicola. Sophorolipids are surface-active molecules mainly used as household and laundry detergents.

Global 3-D Simulations of the Triple Oxygen Isotope Signature ΔO in Atmospheric CO.

The triple oxygen isotope signature ΔO in atmospheric CO, also known as its "O excess," has been proposed as a tracer for gross primary production (the gross uptake of CO by vegetation through photosynthesis). We present the first global 3-D model simulations for ΔO in atmospheric CO together with a detailed model description and sensitivity analyses. In our 3-D model framework we include the stratospheric source of ΔO in CO and the surface sinks from vegetation, soils, ocean, biomass burning, and fossil fuel combustion.

Enhanced North American carbon uptake associated with El Niño.

Long-term atmospheric CO mole fraction and δCO observations over North America document persistent responses to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. We estimate these responses corresponded to 0.61 (0.

Increased water-use efficiency and reduced CO uptake by plants during droughts at a continental-scale.

Severe droughts in the Northern Hemisphere cause widespread decline of agricultural yield, reduction of forest carbon uptake, and increased CO growth rates in the atmosphere. Plants respond to droughts by partially closing their stomata to limit their evaporative water loss, at the expense of carbon uptake by photosynthesis. This trade-off maximizes their water-use efficiency, as measured for many individual plants under laboratory conditions and field experiments.

Formulating a poorly water soluble drug into an oral solution suitable for paediatric patients; lorazepam as a model drug.

Introduction: Many drugs are unavailable in suitable oral paediatric dosage forms, and pharmacists often have to compound drugs to provide paediatric patients with an acceptable formulation in the right dose. Liquid formulations offer the advantage of dosing flexibility and ease of administration to young patients, but drug substances often show poor aqueous solubility. The objective of this work was to study different solvents and matrices to design a liquid formulation for poorly water soluble drugs, using lorazepam as model drug.

Design and stability study of an oral solution of amlodipine besylate for pediatric patients.

Introduction: Amlodipine is an antihypertensive agent recommended for the management of hypertension in children and adolescents. The commercially available tablets of 5 and 10mg do not provide the necessary flexibility in dosing needed for treating children. Our goal was to develop a pediatric oral solution of amlodipine, using a robust manufacturing process suitable for ex-tempora and larger scale production.

Regional atmospheric CO2 inversion reveals seasonal and geographic differences in Amazon net biome exchange.

Understanding tropical rainforest carbon exchange and its response to heat and drought is critical for quantifying the effects of climate change on tropical ecosystems, including global climate-carbon feedbacks. Of particular importance for the global carbon budget is net biome exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere (NBE), which represents nonfire carbon fluxes into and out of biomass and soils. Subannual and sub-Basin Amazon NBE estimates have relied heavily on process-based biosphere models, despite lack of model agreement with plot-scale observations.

The decadal state of the terrestrial carbon cycle: Global retrievals of terrestrial carbon allocation, pools, and residence times.

The terrestrial carbon cycle is currently the least constrained component of the global carbon budget. Large uncertainties stem from a poor understanding of plant carbon allocation, stocks, residence times, and carbon use efficiency. Imposing observational constraints on the terrestrial carbon cycle and its processes is, therefore, necessary to better understand its current state and predict its future state.

Bioequivalence study of an extemporaneously prepared oral solution of amlodipine suitable for use in pediatric patients compared to commercial tablets.

Objective: Amlodipine, a long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, is frequently prescribed to pediatric patients. To date, no suitable pediatric formulation has been available. In this study, an amlodipine oral solution was developed and tested for bioequivalence to tablets in healthy adult volunteers.

Who learns from whom? Supporting users and developers of a major biodiversity e-infrastructure.

Support systems play an important role for the communication between users and developers of software. We studied two support systems, an issues tracker and an email service available for Scratchpads, a Web 2.0 social networking tool that enables communities to build, share, manage and publish biodiversity information on the Web.

Long-term contribution of human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells to skeletal muscle regeneration in mice.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are attractive for cellular therapy of muscular dystrophies as they are easy to procure, can be greatly expanded ex vivo, and contribute to skeletal muscle repair in vivo. However, detailed information about the contribution of bone marrow (BM)-derived human MSCs (BM-hMSCs) to skeletal muscle regeneration in vivo is very limited. Here, we present the results of a comprehensive study of the fate of LacZ-tagged BM-hMSCs following implantation in cardiotoxin (CTX)-injured tibialis anterior muscles (TAMs) of immunodeficient mice.

Cognitive impairment in early and late bipolar disorder.

Background: Late onset disorders are often associated with cerebral disfunctioning and cognitive impairment in elderly patients. It is unknown whether the age of onset affects cognition in patients with bipolar disorder. The authors compare cognition and clinical characteristics of early- and late-onset bipolar patients in a stable and euthymic condition.

Reflection contrast microscopy: The bridge between light and electron microscopy.

Reflection contrast microscopy (RCM) is a light microscopic method to image cells at high definition and enhanced sensitivity compared to conventional bright-field microscopy. RCM images have very high contrast, which makes them easily applicable for digital image analysis. Because ultrathin sections are mostly used in this method, RCM also functions by bridging light with electron microscopy: the combination of ultrastructural with histochemical studies.

Transduction of myogenic cells by retargeted dual high-capacity hybrid viral vectors: robust dystrophin synthesis in duchenne muscular dystrophy muscle cells.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene (DMD), making it amenable to gene- or cell-based therapies. Another possible treatment entails the combination of both principles by transplantation of autologous myogenic cells after their genetic complementation. This approach requires efficient and stable transduction of these cells with recombinant DMD.

Human mesenchymal stem cells ectopically expressing full-length dystrophin can complement Duchenne muscular dystrophy myotubes by cell fusion.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most prevalent inheritable muscle disease. It is caused by mutations in the approximately 2.5-megabase dystrophin (Dys) encoding gene.

Endowing human adenovirus serotype 5 vectors with fiber domains of species B greatly enhances gene transfer into human mesenchymal stem cells.

Bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) lack the Coxsackie-adenovirus (Ad) receptor and thus are poorly transduced by vectors based on human Ad serotype 5 (Ad5). We investigated whether this problem could be overcome by using tropism-modified Ad5 vectors carrying fiber shaft domains and knobs of different human species B Ads (Ad5FBs). To allow quantitative analyses, these vectors coded for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP).

Transfer of the full-length dystrophin-coding sequence into muscle cells by a dual high-capacity hybrid viral vector with site-specific integration ability.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the DMD gene, making it a potential target for gene therapy. There is, however, a scarcity of vectors that can accommodate the 14-kb DMD cDNA and permanently genetically correct muscle tissue in vivo or proliferating myogenic progenitors in vitro for use in autologous transplantation. Here, a dual high-capacity adenovirus-adeno-associated virus (hcAd/AAV) vector with two full-length human dystrophin-coding sequences flanked by AAV integration-enhancing elements is presented.

Stable transduction of large DNA by high-capacity adeno-associated virus/adenovirus hybrid vectors.

Viral vectors with high cloning capacity and host chromosomal integration ability are in demand for the efficient and permanent genetic modification of target cells with large DNA molecules. We have generated a hybrid gene transfer vehicle consisting of recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) replicative intermediates packaged in adenovirus (Ad) capsids. This arrangement allows cell cycle-independent nuclear delivery of recombinant AAV genomes with lengths considerably above the maximum size (i.

Efficient generation and amplification of high-capacity adeno-associated virus/adenovirus hybrid vectors.

Effective gene therapy is dependent on safe gene delivery vehicles that can achieve efficient transduction and sustained transgene expression. We are developing a hybrid viral vector system that combines in a single particle the large cloning capacity and efficient cell cycle-independent nuclear gene delivery of adenovirus (Ad) vectors with the long-term transgene expression and lack of viral genes of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. The strategy being pursued relies on coupling the AAV DNA replication mechanism to the Ad encapsidation process through packaging of AAV-dependent replicative intermediates provided with Ad packaging elements into Ad capsids.

Efficacy and safety of oral ridogrel in the treatment of ulcerative colitis: two multicentre, randomized, double-blind studies.

Background: Ridogrel at low doses inhibits thromboxane synthase. Oral ridogrel, from 5 mg once daily to 150 mg twice daily, improves the endoscopic appearance of colonic mucosa and clinical manifestations in mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.

Aim: One US trial and one international trial were conducted to determine the effect of ridogrel on mild to severe active ulcerative colitis.

Highly efficient targeted transduction of undifferentiated human hematopoietic cells by adenoviral vectors displaying fiber knobs of subgroup B.

Human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are poorly transduced by vectors based on adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5). This is primarily due to the paucity of the coxsackievirus-Ad receptor on these cells. In an attempt to change the tropism of Ad5, we constructed a series of chimeric E1-deleted Ad5 vectors in which the shaft and knob of the capsid fibers were exchanged with those of other Ad serotypes.