3D attributed models for addressing environmental and engineering geoscience problems in areas of urban regeneration : a case study in Glasgow, UK

The City of Glasgow is situated on and around the lower floodplain and inner estuary of the River Clyde in the west of Scotland, UK. Glasgow’s urban hinterland once was one of Europe’s leading centres of heavy industry, and of ship building in particular. The industries were originally fed by locally mined coal and ironstone. In common with many European cities, the heavy industries declined and Glasgow was left with a legacy of industrial dereliction, widespread undermining, and extensive vacant and contaminated sites, some the infilled sites of clay pits and sand and gravel workings

A study of principles and methods of pasture improvement on New Zealand hill land, with particular reference to the effects of climate, biotic and anthropogenic influences upon the sward : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science at the University of New Zealand, Massey Agricultural College

This dissertation deals with principles rather than with practices. When trying to enfold a vast subject within limited bounds no detailed analysis of practices can be made, for these vary from farm to farm, almost from paddock to paddook, as the aspect, climate, soil type and terrain change. However, practices are based on principles which have much wider application and a cognizance of which is fundamental to the institution of' any practice. The essential principles are those of raising fertility where necessary, of introducing species of grass and legume which can either utilise or enhance the increased fertility and themselves provide nutritious and palatable stock feed, and, finally, so to manage stock on these improved pastures that the improvement is consolidated and not dissipated. Practice, however, is not ignored, but is used rather to demonstrate some of the means by which the ideals underlying the principles may be achieved. Just as no attempt has been made to catalogue all possible practices so certain principles not strictly within the realm of plant husbandry have been omitted. The most important of these is the necessity for any farming operation to be carried out within a suitable economic context. Where the economic context is unfavourable, practices detrimental to the proper, conservative utilisation of land inevitably come into being, and the deterioration of hill swards thus brought about frequently culminates in erosion. When the economic state of the hill farming industry is favourable, however. deterioration and erosion are frequently the outcome of a failure to appreciate or put into practice the principles which are set out hereinafter. [From Introduction

Weeds in wheat - response to fallow frequency, legume green manure, and wheat class

Non-Peer Reviewe

Temporal variations in English Populations of a forest insect pest, the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum), associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation and global warming

Based on an exceptionally long modern ecological dataset (41 years), it has been possible to show that warm weather in England associated with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index causes the spring migration of the green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum), a pest species of spruce trees (Picea) to start earlier, continue for longer and contain more aphids. An upward trend in the NAO index during the period 1966-2006 is associated with an increasing population size of E. abietinum. It is important to understand the mechanisms behind the population fluctuations, because this aphid causes considerable damage to Picea plantations. Present day weather associated fluctuations in forest insect pests may be useful analogues in understanding past pest outbreaks in forests

Long-term productivity and economic performance of spring wheat production systems in southwestern Saskatchewan

Non-Peer Reviewe

Routine computed tomography after recent operative exploration for penetrating trauma

BACKGROUND Patients with penetrating trauma who cannot be stabilized undergo operative intervention without preoperative imaging. In such cases, postoperative imaging may reveal additional injuries not identified during the initial operative exploration. The purpose of this study is to explore the utility of postoperative CT imaging in the setting of penetrating trauma. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of patients with penetrating trauma treated at an urban Level 1 trauma center between 2010 and 2015. Patients were included if they underwent an emergent laparotomy without preoperative imaging. Patients were excluded if they had prior imaging or concomitant blunt injury. For the purposes of this study, occult injury was defined as a CT scan finding not mentioned in the first operative report. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patient characteristics who had received imaging immediately postoperatively with those who had not. RESULTS During the 5-year study period, 328 patients who had a laparotomy for penetrating trauma over the study period, 225 patients met the inclusion criteria. Seventy-three (32%) patients underwent CT scanning immediately postoperatively with occult injuries identified in 38 (52%) patients. The most frequent occult injuries were orthopedic (20 of 43) and genitourinary (9 of 43). Importantly, 10 (26%) of the 38 patients required an intervention for these occult injuries. Those selected for immediate postoperative imaging were more likely to have sustained gunshot wounds and were significantly more severely injured (higher Injury Severity Score and longer length of hospital stay) when compared to patients who did not receive immediate imaging. CONCLUSION We recommend the use of immediate postoperative CT after emergent laparotomy especially when there is a high index of suspicion for spine or genitourinary injuries and in patients who have sustained ballistic penetrating injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic/care management, level IV diagnostic tests or criteria, level IV

Radiodynamic therapy using TAT peptide‐targeted Verteporfin‐encapsulated PLGA nanoparticles

Radiodynamic therapy (RDT) is a recent extension of conventional photodynamic therapy, in which visible/near infrared light irradiation is replaced by a well-tolerated dose of high-energy X-rays. This enables greater tissue penetration to allow non-invasive treatment of large, deep-seated tumors. We report here the design and testing of a drug delivery system for RDT that is intended to enhance intra- or peri-nuclear localization of the photosensitizer, leading to DNA damage and resulting clonogenic cell kill. This comprises a photosensitizer (Verteporfin, VP) incorporated into poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) that are surface-functionalized with a cell-penetrating HIV trans-activator of transcription (TAT) peptide. In addition to a series of physical and photophysical characterization studies, cytotoxicity tests in pancreatic (PANC-1) cancer cells in vitro under 4 Gy X-ray exposure from a clinical 6 MV linear accelerator (LINAC) showed that TAT targeting of the nanoparticles markedly enhances the effectiveness of RDT treatment, particularly when assessed by a clonogenic, i.e., DNA damage-mediated, cell kill.Sandhya Clement, Ayad G. Anwer, Layla Pires, Jared Campbell, Brian C. Wilson and Ewa M. Goldy