An 11-year validation of wave-surge modelling in the Irish Sea, using a nested POLCOMS-WAM modelling system

In the future it is believed that extreme coastal flooding events will increase (in frequency and intensity) as a result of climate change. We are investigating the flood risks in the eastern Irish Sea posed by extreme storm events. Here, an 11-year simulation (01/01/1996–01/01/2007) including wave–current interaction has been validated. These data can then be used to investigate the potential for coastal flooding in the study area. To accurately model a storm event in the eastern Irish Sea both wave effects and the influence of the external surge need to be considered. To simulate the waves, we have set up a one-way nested approach from a 1° North Atlantic model, to a 1.85 km Irish Sea model, using the state-of-the-art 3rd-generation spectral WAve Model (WAM). This allows the influence of swell to be correctly represented. The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal-Ocean Modelling System (POLCOMS) has been used to model the tide–surge interaction. To include the external surge we have set up a one-way nested approach from the 1/9° by 1/6° operational Continental Shelf surge model, to a 1.85 km Irish Sea model. For the high resolution Irish Sea model we use a POLCOMS–WAM coupled model, to allow for the effects of wave–current interaction on the prediction of surges at the coast. Using two classification schemes the coupled model is shown to be good and often very good at predicting the surge, total water elevation and wave conditions. We also find the number of low level surge events has increased in the study area over the past decade. However, this time period is too short to determine any long-term trends in the wave and surge levels

Can head louse repellents really work? Field studies of piperonal 2% spray

Background. Many families find regular checking of children’s heads for head louse infestation too onerous and would prefer to be able to prevent infestation by use of a topical application that deters lice from infesting the head. Identification in the laboratory of a repellent activity for piperonal provided the basis for developing a spray product to repel lice.Methods. A proof of principle field study in Dhaka, Bangladesh, compared the effect of using 2% piperonal spray with that of a placebo in 105 children and adults from three communities with infestation levels close to 100%. All participants were treated for infestation and subsequent incidence of reinfestation monitored daily by investigators. A second randomised, controlled, double blind, study in North London, UK, evaluated the effect of the product in normal use. One hundred and sixty-three children from schools with a high level (20–25%) of infestation were treated and confirmed louse free and randomly divided between 2% piperonal, a placebo spray, and a control group for up to 22 weeks. Parents applied the spray and monitored for infestation. Regular investigator visits confirmed the parental monitoring and replenished supplies of spray.Results. In Dhaka, over 18 days there were only 4 infestations in the piperonal group and 8 in the placebo group. This difference was not significant (p = 0.312). In North London, there were 41 cases of infestation over the course of the study. Although there were fewer infestations in the piperonal group, analysis of time to first infestation showed a no significant (p = 0.4368) difference between groups.Conclusion. Routine use of 2% piperonal spray in communities with a high prevalence of head louse infestation may provide some protection from infestation. However, the difference between use of the product and no active intervention was sufficiently small that regular checking for presence of lice is likely to be a more practical and cost effective approach to prevention of infestation

Training in Open Dialogue and Dialogical Practice: creatively responding as trainers and writers

This paper emerges from a series of conversations about training in Open Dialogue and dialogical practice. In our dialogue, we found ourselves moving away from seeking definitive answers about content (what to include) or process (how to include). We asked, “Why are we asking this question about training at all?” Maybe it is because many helpers and all kinds of professionals all over the world are truly asking, “How do we do, or how do we learn how to do ‘open dialogue’?.” That question starts with “How to train others in the practice?”We moved toward responding to our own questions—what are we offering as trainers and what are the trainees seeking? We sought to explore what is required for a training space that accommodates the hopes of both trainers and trainees. Words arose during our talking, and we listened to them, let them sink in, and reflected on them. Some words resonated with us as trainers; some linked with observing trainees’ experiences (including our own); some showed a glimpse of the relationship between trainer and trainees. These emergent words point to a series of learnings, aspects of the training that we as trainers have come to believe are important. The following paper expands upon these words while also including actual portions of our dialogues and vignettes from training. As such, we illustrate our ongoing learning as trainers of Open Dialogue and dialogical practice as it occurs within the unique nature of each training we provide

Identifying Candida albicans Gene Networks Involved in Pathogenicity

Acknowledgments This is a short text to acknowledge the contributions of specific colleagues, institutions, or agencies that aided the efforts of the authors. Funding RA was generously supported by a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Award [WT105618MA], a Microbiology Research Visit Grant [RVG16/18], and a EPSRC/BBSRC Innovation Fellowship [EP/S001352/1]. AB was supported by a programme grant from the UK Medical Research Council [MR/M026663/1] and by the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Aberdeen [MR/N006364/1]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A low-temperature phase of bis(tetrabutylammonium) octa-l3-chloridohexachlorido- octahedro-hexatungstate

The article discusses the low-temperature phase of bis(tetrabutylammonium) octa-µ3-chlorido-hexachlorido-octahedro-hexa-tungstate, which undergoes a reversible phase transition at 268 K. The unit cells of the room- and low-temperature polymorphs of this compound are found to be closely related. The hydrocarbon chain of one of the tetrabutylammonium cations is found to be disordered at both 150 and 200 K

Candida albicans Hypha Formation and Mannan Masking of β-Glucan Inhibit Macrophage Phagosome Maturation

Received 28 August 2014 Accepted 28 October 2014 Published 2 December 2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Janet Willment, Aberdeen Fungal Group, University of Aberdeen, for kindly providing the soluble Dectin-1-Fc reporter. All microscopy was performed with the assistance of the University of Aberdeen Core Microscopy & Histology Facility, and we thank the IFCC for their assistance with flow cytometry. We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, 097377, and 101873). E.R.B. and A.J.P.B. are funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and J.L. is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fungal spore swelling and germination are restricted by the macrophage phagolysosome

Acknowledgements We acknowledge Wellcome support of Senior Investigator (101873/Z/13/Z; 224323/Z/21/Z), Collaborative (200208/A/15/Z) and Strategic Awards (097377/Z11/Z) and the MRC for a programme grant (MR/M026663/2) and the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/2). We thank Kevin Mackenzie for help with microscopy. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Supplementary data for article: Chen, S.; Ruan, Y.; Brown, J. D.; Gallucci, J.; Maslak, V.; Hadad, C. M.; Bađić, J. D. Assembly of Amphiphilic Baskets into Stimuli-Responsive Vesicles. Developing a Strategy for the Detection of Organophosphorus Chemical Nerve Agents. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2013, 135 (40), 14964–14967. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja408585j

Supporting information for: [https://doi.org/10.1021/ja408585j]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/1427

The nature of the fungal cargo induces significantly different temporal programmes of macrophage phagocytosis

Acknowledgements We acknowledge Wellcome support of a Senior Investigator (101873/Z/13/Z), Collaborative (200208/A/15/Z) and Strategic Awards (097377/Z11/Z) and the MRC for a programme grant (MR/M026663/2) and the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/2). We thank Kevin Mackenzie for help with microscopy.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Expression of Integrin-αE by Mucosal Mast Cells in the Intestinal Epithelium and Its Absence in Nematode-Infected Mice Lacking the Transforming Growth Factor-β1-Activating Integrin αvβ6

Peak intestinal mucosal mast cell (MMC) recruitment coincides with expulsion of Trichinella spiralis, at a time when the majority of the MMCs are located within the epithelium in BALB/c mice. Although expression of integrin-α(E)β(7) by MMCs has not been formally demonstrated, it has been proposed as a potential mechanism to account for the predominantly intraepithelial location of MMCs during nematode infection. Co-expression of integrin-α(E)β(7) and the MMC chymase mouse mast cell protease-1, by mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells, is strictly regulated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β(1). However, TGF-β(1) is secreted as part of a latent complex in vivo and subsequent extracellular modification is required to render it biologically active. We now show, for the first time, that intraepithelial MMCs express integrin-α(E)β(7) in Trichinella-infected BALB/c and S129 mice. In S129 mice that lack the gene for the integrin-β(6) subunit and, as consequence, do not express the epithelial integrin-α(v)β(6), integrin-α(E) expression is virtually abolished and recruitment of MMCs into the intestinal epithelium is dramatically reduced despite significant overall augmentation of the MMC population. Because a major function of integrin-α(v)β(6) is to activate latent TGF-β(1,) these findings strongly support a role for TGF-β(1) in both the recruitment and differentiation of murine MMCs during nematode infection