Narrow optical homogeneous linewidths in rare earth doped nanocrystals.

A homogeneous linewidth of 85.6±4.4 kHz is reported in 60 nm Eu3+ doped Y2O3 nanocrystals at 1.3 K. This linewidth was measured by two-pulse photon echoes on highly scattering powders using heterodyne detection. Spectral diffusion was also investigated by three-pulse photon echoes and resulted in a limited broadening of the homogenous linewidth of about 250 kHz over 120 µs. Compared to achievable Rabi frequencies, in the range of several MHz, these values show that rare earth doped nanocrystals can be useful for applications in optical quantum information processing.

Scanning the solutions for the sustainable supply of forest ecosystem services in Europe.

Forests are key components of European multifunctional landscapes and supply numerous forest ecosystem services (FES) fundamental to human well-being. The sustainable provision of FES has the potential to provide responses to major societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, or rural development. To identify suitable strategies for the future sustenance of FES, we performed a solution scanning exercise with a group of transdisciplinary forest and FES experts from different European regions. We identified and prioritized fifteen major challenges hindering the balanced provision of multiple FES and identified a series of potential solutions to tackle each of them. The most prominent challenges referred to the increased frequency and impacts of extreme weather events and the normative mindset regarding forest management. The respective solutions pointed to the promotion of forest resilience via climate-smart forestry and mainstreaming FES-oriented management through a threefold strategy focusing on education, awareness raising, and networking. In a subsequent survey, most solutions were assessed as highly effective, transferable, monitorable, and with potential for being economically efficient. The implementation of the solutions could have synergistic effects when applying the notion of leverage points. Seven emerging pathways towards the sustainable supply of FES have been identified. These pathways build on each other and are organized based on their potential for transformation: (1) shifting forest management paradigms towards pluralistic ecosystem valuation; (2) using integrated landscape approaches; (3) increasing forest resilience; (4) coordinating actions between forest-related actors; (5) increasing participation in forest planning and management; (6) continuous, open, and transparent knowledge integration; and (7) using incentive-based instruments to support regulating and cultural FES. These pathways can contribute to the implementation of the new EU Forestry Strategy to support the balanced supply of multiple FES. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-022-01111-4.

In vitro sensitivity testing of minimally passaged and uncultured gliomas with TRAIL and/or chemotherapy drugs.

TRAIL/Apo-2L has shown promise as an anti-glioma drug, based on investigations of TRAIL sensitivity in established glioma cell lines, but it is not known how accurately TRAIL signalling pathways of glioma cells in vivo are reproduced in these cell lines in vitro. To replicate as closely as possible the in vivo behaviour of malignant glioma cells, 17 early passage glioma cell lines and 5 freshly resected gliomas were exposed to TRAIL-based agents and/or chemotherapeutic drugs. Normal human hepatocytes and astrocytes and established glioma cell lines were also tested. Cross-linked TRAIL, but not soluble TRAIL, killed both normal cell types and cells from three tumours. Cells from only one glioma were killed by soluble TRAIL, although only inefficiently. High concentrations of cisplatin were lethal to glioma cells, hepatocytes and astrocytes. Isolated combinations of TRAIL and chemotherapy drugs were more toxic to particular gliomas than normal cells, but no combination was generally selective for glioma cells. This study highlights the widespread resistance of glioma cells to TRAIL-based agents, but suggests that a minority of high-grade glioma patients may benefit from particular combinations of TRAIL and chemotherapy drugs. In vitro sensitivity assays may help identify effective drug combinations for individual glioma patients.

TRAIL treatment provokes mutations in surviving cells.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy commonly damage DNA and trigger p53-dependent apoptosis through intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Two unfortunate consequences of this mechanism are resistance due to blockade of p53 or intrinsic apoptosis pathways, and mutagenesis of non-malignant surviving cells which can impair cellular function or provoke second malignancies. Death ligand-based drugs, such as tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), stimulate extrinsic apoptotic signaling, and may overcome resistance to treatments that induce intrinsic apoptosis. As death receptor ligation does not damage DNA as a primary mechanism of pro-apoptotic action, we hypothesized that surviving cells would remain genetically unscathed, suggesting that death ligand-based therapies may avoid some of the adverse effects associated with traditional cancer treatments. Surprisingly, however, treatment with sub-lethal concentrations of TRAIL or FasL was mutagenic. Mutations arose in viable cells that contained active caspases, and overexpression of the caspase-8 inhibitor crmA or silencing of caspase-8 abolished TRAIL-mediated mutagenesis. Downregulation of the apoptotic nuclease caspase-activated DNAse (CAD)/DNA fragmentation factor 40 (DFF40) prevented the DNA damage associated with TRAIL treatment. Although death ligands do not need to damage DNA in order to induce apoptosis, surviving cells nevertheless incur DNA damage after treatment with these agents.

Beta-adrenergic receptors and catecholamines in the rat heart during tourniquet trauma.

Tourniquet trauma produced a decrease in the noradrenaline content in the heart of the rats through the period of tourniquet application (up to 4 hr). In the same period, the content of adrenaline was significantly increased. This relationship between noradrenaline and adrenaline remained the same in the posttraumatic period. Parallel to the observed changes in the catecholamine content of the heart, a significant decrease in the number of the beta-adrenergic receptors (Bmax) and an increase in their affinity (a decrease in KD) was also found in the hearts of rats exposed to tourniquet trauma. These changes remained throughout the posttraumatic period, with one exception: no change 30 min after trauma has been observed. Reapplication of tourniquet was associated with a restoration of the beta-adrenergic receptors and complete survival of the animals. The decrease in the beta-receptors density after trauma might be due to down-regulation produced by increased concentration of adrenaline, a beta-receptor agonist. Meanwhile, some other factors, particularly ischaemia, might also contribute to the observed changes in the beta-adrenergic binding sites.

[Effects of non-lethal scalding on the density and affinity of beta adrenoreceptors in cardiac muscle in rats]. / Effets de l'échaudage non létal sur la densité et l'affinité des beta-adrénocepteurs dans le muscle cardiaque du rat.

Our results indicate changes in both Bmax and KD of the beta-adrenergic receptors in the ventricular heart muscle of the rat, submitted to non-lethal scalding, even in the early posttraumatic period. The changes of heart, plasma and urine noradrenaline and adrenaline contents indicate significant increase in sympatho-adrenal activity after non-lethal scalding. The parallel changes of the beta-adrenergic receptor characteristics, which depend on the changes of catecholamines in the heart muscle and plasma only at certain time intervals after trauma, tend to preserve normal-control values.

Effects of (DesGly9-Arg8) vasopressin on cognitive processes in alcoholic patients.

The effect of intranasally administered (DesGly9-Arg8) vasopressin (DGAVP) on certain aspects of cognitive functions of alcoholic patients was studied. The investigation was carried out in 103 chronic alcoholic patients. None of the patients suffered from Korsakoff's syndrome, portal encephalopathy or brain damage of other etiology. The trial was double-blind, placebo controlled. Psychological testing, which included certain aspects of attention, short-term and long-term memory and spatial orientation, was carried out on the day before (baseline measurements), on the last day (II), and seven days after the last administration of DGAVP (III). No treatment effect of DGAVP was observed. The results show that investigations with humans are infinitely more complex than those with animals, since a number of physiological and socio-psychological factors must be controlled. In this study of alcoholics two such factors: 1) duration of abstinence and 2) adaptation to test situation were identified.