The engineering geology of the Nottingham area, UK

Nottingham was built near a crossing point on the River Trent in the East Midlands of England. Initially, the City developed on a low sandstone hill close to the north bank of the river, which provided a secure, well-drained location above the marshes that bordered the river. Geologically, Nottingham stands at the boundary between Palaeozoic rocks to the north and west, and Mesozoic and Cainozoic strata to the south and east. The area is underlain by coal-bearing Carboniferous Coal Measures, Permian dolomitic limestones, Permo-Triassic mudstones and weak sandstones, Jurassic clays and Quaternary glacial and alluvial deposits. Artificial deposits, resulting from the social, industrial and mineral extraction activities of the past cover the natural deposits over much of the area. This geological environment has underpinned the economic development of the area through the mining of coal (now largely ceased), oil extraction that was important during the Second World War, brickmaking from clays, alluvial sand and gravel extraction from the Trent Valley and gypsum extraction from the Permo-Triassic mudstones. The Permo-Triassic sandstone is a nationally important aquifer and has also been exploited at the surface and from shallow mines for sand. However, this history of the use and exploitation of mineral deposits has created a number of environmental problems including rising groundwater levels, abandoned mine shafts and mining subsidence, and, within the City itself, the occasional collapse of artificial cavities in the sandstone and contaminated land left by industrial activities. Natural constraints on development include gypsum dissolution, landslides, rockfalls, swell-shrink problems in Jurassic clays and flooding. Occasional minor earthquakes are attributed to movements due to coal mining or natural, deep geological structures. Thus, Nottingham’s geological context remains an important consideration when planning its future regeneration and development

Enrichment of innate lymphoid cell populations in gingival tissue

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a population of lymphocytes that act as the first line of immunologic defense at mucosal surfaces. The ILC family in the skin, lungs, and gastrointestinal tissues has been investigated, and there are reports of individual subsets of ILCs in the oral tissues. We sought to investigate the whole ILC population (group 1, 2, and 3 subsets) in the murine gingivae and the lymph nodes draining the oral cavity. We show that ILCs made up a greater proportion of the whole CD45+ lymphocyte population in the murine gingivae (0.356% ± 0.039%) as compared with the proportion of ILCs in the draining lymph nodes (0.158% ± 0.005%). Cytokine profiling of the ILC populations demonstrated different proportions of ILC subsets in the murine gingivae versus the regional lymph nodes. The majority of ILCs in the draining lymph nodes expressed IL-5, whereas there were equal proportions of IFN-γ- and IL-5 expressing ILCs in the oral mucosa. The percentage of IL-17+ ILCs was comparable between the murine gingivae and the oral draining lymph nodes. These data suggest an enrichment of ILCs in the murine gingivae, and these ILCs reflect a cytokine profile discrepant to that of the local draining lymph nodes. These studies indicate diversity and enrichment of ILCs at the oral mucosal surface. The function of ILCs in the oral cavity remains to be determined; here, we provide a premise of ILC populations that merits future consideration in investigations of mouse models and human tissues

Low power laser generated ultrasound : signal processing for time domain data acquisition

The use of low power modulated laser diode systems has previously been established as a suitable method for non-destructive laser generation of ultrasound. Using a quasi-continuous optical excitation amplified by an erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) allows flexible generation of ultrasonic waves, offering control of further parameters such as the frequency content or signal shape. In addition, pseudo-random binary sequences (PRBS) can be used to improve the detected impulse response. Here we compare two sequences, the m-sequence and the Golay code, and discuss the advantages and practical limits of their application with laser diode based optical excitation of ultrasound

Land use planning for high pressure pipelines : ground hazards from landsliding

Landsliding is a significant geological hazard in the UK and can cause localised damage to built structures including buried pipelines. Detailed investigation is required to establish the true nature and risk of landsliding at a site but this is a costly and time-consuming process that is unnecessary in many instances. Although widespread in occurrence landslides tend to occur only in certain areas where geological, geomorphological and environmental conditions are conducive to failure. Thus it is possible, by assessing existing records and experience to gain some indication of the susceptibility to landsliding of any particular location. In order to assess, on a national scale, the hazard to the high-pressure gas pipeline network from landsliding, Advantica Technologies commissioned the British Geological Survey (BGS) to collate available information regarding landslide hazards across the UK and present them in a way meaningful to the pipeline operators. The results of this research are presented in this report and accompanying data cd

Desk study and walk-over survey of Rhiw Landslip, Lleyn Peninsula

This report describes the findings of a walkover survey and desk study commissioned by Gwynedd Council. BGS were asked to investigate the geology and geomorphology in the area around Plas yn Rhiw, Gwynedd where landslide activity has led to the closure of an important road. BGS were also asked to comment upon the findings of an existing ground investigation by the consultants Ove Arup & Partners and upon a proposed re-routing of the road. This survey is in general agreement with the findings of the Ove Arup report that the landslide activity at Plas yn Rhiw occurs within heterogeneous glacial outwash deposits overlying relatively stiff units of glacial till. Although the prediction of future landslide activity is difficult due to the nature of the geology and the effect of previous remediation work on the landslide it is thought likely that, providing care is taken with the disposal of ground and surface water from the site, Route E1A is a viable long-term route for the road

The immunopathology of dengue and Zika virus infections.

A large proportion of the world's population live in areas with dengue virus (DENV) transmission resulting in tens of millions of symptomatic dengue cases each year. Serious complications following DENV infection occur more frequently in those suffering from a second or subsequent infection implicating virus-specific immunity as having a role in pathogenesis. In recent years outbreaks of the related Zika virus (ZIKV) have been associated with birth defects and neurological complications. As DENV and ZIKV share a viral vector sequential infections can occur. Given the sequence homology between the two viruses, the generation of cross-reactive immune responses is highly likely. This review examines the role immunopathogenesis plays during DENV infection as well as highlighting recent studies that demonstrate DENV immunity may have an effect on the outcome of ZIKV infection

Low power laser generated ultrasound : signal processing for time domain data acquisition

The use of low power modulated laser diode systems has previously been established as a suitable method for non-destructive laser generation of ultrasound. Using a quasi-continuous optical excitation amplified by an erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) allows flexible generation of ultrasonic waves, offering control of further parameters such as the frequency content or signal shape. In addition, pseudo-random binary sequences (PRBS) can be used to improve the detected impulse response. Here we compare two sequences, the m-sequence and the Golay code, and discuss the advantages and practical limits of their application with laser diode based optical excitation of ultrasound

Detection of solvents using a distributed fibre optic sensor

A fibre optic sensor that is capable of distributed detection of liquid solvents is presented. Sensor interrogation using optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) provides the capability of locating solvent spills to a precision of ±2 m over a total sensor length that may extend to 20 km

Lloyd's Coppice Landslip Study Phase 1 : design of site investigation programme

This report, commissioned by Telford and Wrekin Council, provides a strategy for investigating the instability of the Lloyd's Coppice landslip, near Ironbridge. Recommendations are given for a drilling programme that will assist in modelling the geological sequence exposed in the sides of the Coppice, and form a basis for a stability assessment. The recommendations are based on a limited desk study using information provided by the Council, and a one day walkover survey

Land use planning for high pressure pipelines : ground hazards from dissolution of soluble rocks

The overall permeability of each geological unit has been interpreted to produce an index of the vulnerability of groundwater occurring in Glasgow, and provides a broad-based view of both the vulnerability of groundwater and the location of the more permeable aquifers in Glasgow. The data used to interpret the groundwater vulnerability index are derived from the 1:50 000 DigMap bedrock and superficial geology coverage. The GIS and associated maps should not therefore be used at scales larger than 1:50 000. Locations of thick clays have been interpreted and drawn based on BGS borehole records. Information on water boreholes is derived from the British Geological Survey Scottish Water Borehole database