Vascular Biology

The article summarizes recent studies investigating mechanisms of collateral flow variability in stroke and the role of pericytes in cerebral microcirculation and stroke.

What evidence exists on the impacts of flow variability on fish and macroinvertebrates of temperate floodplain rivers in Central and Western Europe? A systematic map protocol

Background Flow variability is considered a fundamental factor affecting riverine biota. Any alterations to flow regime can influence freshwater organisms, and this process is expected to change with the projected climate change. This systematic map, therefore, aims at investigating the impacts of natural (resulting from climatic variability), anthropogenic (resulting from direct human pressure), and climate change-induced flow variability on fish and macroinvertebrates of temperate floodplain rivers in Central and Western Europe. Particular focus will be placed on the effects of extreme low and high discharges. These rare events are known to regulate population size and taxonomic diversity. Methods All studies investigating the effects of flow variability on metrics concerning freshwater fish and macroinvertebrates will be considered in the map, particularly metrics such as: abundance, density, diversity, growth, migration, recruitment, reproduction, survival, or their substitutes, such as biomonitoring indices. Relevant flow variability will reflect (1) anthropogenic causes: dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities, locks, levees, water abstraction, water diversion, land-use changes, road culverts; (2) natural causes: floods, droughts, seasonal changes; or (3) climate change. Geographically, the map will cover the ecoregion of Central and Western Europe, focusing on its major habitat type, namely “temperate floodplain rivers and wetlands”. The review will employ search engines and specialist websites, and cover primary and grey literature. No date, language, or document type restrictions will be applied in the search strategy. We expect the results to be primarily in English, although evidence (meeting all eligibility criteria) from other languages within the study area will also be included. We will also contact relevant stakeholders and announce an open call for additional information. Eligibility screening will be conducted at two levels: title and abstract, and full text. From eligible studies the following information will be extracted: the cause of flow variability, location, type of study, outcomes, etc. A searchable database containing extracted data will be developed and provided as supplementary material to the map report. The final narrative will describe the quantity and key characteristics of the available evidence, and identify knowledge gaps and knowledge clusters, i.e. subtopics sufficiently covered by existing studies allowing full systematic review and meta-analysis.

The Sensitivity of Persistent Geopotential Anomalies to the Climate of a Moist Channel Model

High-impact events such as heat waves and droughts are often associated with persistent positive geopotential height anomalies (PAs). Understanding how PA activity will change in a future warmer climate is therefore fundamental to projecting associated changes in weather and climate extremes. This is a complex problem because the dynamics of PAs and their associated blocking activity are still poorly understood. Furthermore, climate-change influences on PA activity may be geographically dependent and encompass competing influences. To expose the salient impacts of climate change, we use an oceanic channel configuration of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) in a bivariate experiment focused on changes in environmental temperature, moisture, and baroclinicity. The 500-hPa wind speed and flow variability are found to increase with increasing temperature and baroclinicity, driven by increases in latent heat release and a stronger virtual temperature gradient. Changes to 500-hPa sinuosity are negligible. PAs are objectively identified at the 500-hPa level using an anomaly threshold method. When using a fixed threshold, PA trends indicate increased activity and strength with warming, but decreased activity and strength with Arctic amplification. Use of a climate-relative threshold hides these trends and highlights the importance of accurate characterization of the mean flow. Changes in PA activity mirror corresponding changes in 500-hPa flow variability and are found to be attributable to changes in three distinct dynamical mechanisms: baroclinic wave activity, virtual temperature effects, and latent heat release.

Pore-scale Mixing and the Evolution from Anomalous to Normal Hydrodynamic Dispersion

<p>Transport of dissolved substances through porous media is determined by the complexity of the pore space and diffusive mass transfer within and between pores. The interplay of diffusive pore-scale mixing and spatial flow variability are key for the understanding of transport and reaction phenomena in porous media. We study the interplay of pore-scale mixing and network-scale advection through heterogeneous porous media, and its role for the evolution and asymptotic behavior of hydrodynamic dispersion. In a Lagrangian framework, we identify three fundamental mechanisms of pore-scale mixing that determine large scale particle motion: (i) The smoothing of intra-pore velocity contrasts, (ii) the increase of the tortuosity of particle paths, and (iii) the setting of a maximum time for particle transitions. Based on these mechanisms, we derive an upscaled approach that predicts anomalous and normal hydrodynamic dispersion based on the characteristic pore length, Eulerian velocity distribution and Péclet number. The theoretical developments are supported and validated by direct numerical flow and transport simulations in a three-dimensional digitized Berea sandstone sample obtained using X-Ray microtomography. Solute breakthrough curves, are characterized by an intermediate power-law behavior and exponential cut-off, which reflect pore-scale velocity variability and intra-pore solute mixing. Similarly, dispersion evolves from molecular diffusion at early times to asymptotic hydrodynamics dispersion via an intermediate superdiffusive regime. The theory captures the full evolution form anomalous to normal transport behavior at different Péclet numbers as well as the Péclet-dependence of asymptotic dispersion. It sheds light on hydrodynamic dispersion behaviors as a consequence of the interaction between pore-scale mixing and Eulerian flow variability. </p>