Advances in the use of biological stabilisers and hyper-compaction for sustainable earthen construction materials.

In the majority of cases, earthen construction materials for real buildings require amendment to deliver suitable material properties, which could be some additional strength or resilience to erosion. In modern earthen construction, in India, Australia and other parts of the world, cement and lime have been successfully used as stabilisers, providing both strength and durability benefits. However, the use of cement is detrimental to the green credentials of earthen construction materials, due to the large carbon footprint of that material’s manufacture and, for some time, researchers have been motivated to find more appropriate stabilisers and manufacturing methods. In this paper, we present recent findings from two projects that are linked by this motivation, and involve the study of bio-based stabilisers and alternative manufacturing methods for insitu and unit-based materials. Results are presented from laboratory testing of strength and durability of a range of materials, bio-stabilisers and manufacturing processes, indicating that there could be viable alternatives to cement and lime, certainly for many current uses of earthen construction materials

Flood Impacts on Road Transportation Using Microscopic Traffic Modelling Techniques

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this recordThis paper proposes a novel methodology for modelling the impacts of floods on traffic. Often, flooding is a complex combination of various causes (coastal, fluvial and pluvial). Further, transportation systems are very sensitive to external disturbances. The interactions between these two complex and dynamic systems have not been studied in detail so far. To address this issue, this paper proposes a methodology for a dynamic integration of a flood model (MIKE FLOOD) and a microscopic traffic simulation model (SUMO). The flood modelling results indicate which roads are inundated for a period of time. The traffic on these links will be halted or delayed according to the flood characteristics—extent, propagation and depth. As a consequence, some of the trips need to be cancelled; some need to be rerouted to unfavourable routes; and some are indirectly affected. A comparison between the baseline and a flood scenario yields the impacts of that flood on traffic, estimated in terms of lost business hours, additional fuel consumption and additional CO2 emissions. The proposed methodology will be further developed as a workable tool to evaluate the flooding impact on transportation network at city scale automatically.Research on the PEARL (Preparing for Extreme And Rare events in coastaL regions) project is funded by the European Commission through Framework Programme 7, Grant Number 603663

Study of B -> \rho \pi decays at Belle

This paper describes a study of B meson decays to the pseudoscalar-vector final state \rho\pi using 31.9\times 10^6 B\bar{B} events collected with the Belle detector at KEKB. The branching fractions B(B^+ \to \rho^0\pi^+) = (8.0^{+2.3+0.7}_{-2.0-0.7}) \times 10^{-6} and B(B^0 -> \rho^{+-} \pi^{-+}) = (20.8^{+6.0+2.8}_{-6.3-3.1}) \times 10^{-6} are obtained. In addition, a 90% confidence level upper limit of B(B^0 \to \rho^0\pi^0) < 5.3 \times 10^{-6}is reported.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Lett.

MiR-155 has a protective role in the development of non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis in mice

Hepatic steatosis is a global epidemic that is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. MicroRNAs (miRs) are regulators that can functionally integrate a range of metabolic and inflammatory pathways in liver. We aimed to investigate the functional role of miR-155 in hepatic steatosis. Male C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) and miR-155−/− mice were fed either normal chow or high fat diet (HFD) for 6 months then lipid levels, metabolic and inflammatory parameters were assessed in livers and serum of the mice. Mice lacking endogenous miR-155 that were fed HFD for 6 months developed increased hepatic steatosis compared to WT controls. This was associated with increased liver weight and serum VLDL/LDL cholesterol and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels, as well as increased hepatic expression of genes involved in glucose regulation (Pck1, Cebpa), fatty acid uptake (Cd36) and lipid metabolism (Fasn, Fabp4, Lpl, Abcd2, Pla2g7). Using miRNA target prediction algorithms and the microarray transcriptomic profile of miR-155−/− livers, we identified and validated that Nr1h3 (LXRα) as a direct miR-155 target gene that is potentially responsible for the liver phenotype of miR-155−/− mice. Together these data indicate that miR-155 plays a pivotal role regulating lipid metabolism in liver and that its deregulation may lead to hepatic steatosis in patients with diabetes

Effects of fire-fighting on a fully developed compartment fire: temperatures and emissions

This study evaluates the effects and consequences of fire-fighting operations on the main characteristics of a fully-developed compartment fire. It also presents data and evaluation of the conditions to which fire-fighters are exposed. A typical room enclosure was used with ventilation through a corridor to the front access door. The fire load was wooden pallets. Flashover was reached and the fire became fully developed before the involvement of the fire-fighting team. The progression of the fire-fighters through the corridor and the main-room suppression attack - in particular the effect of short, medium and long water pulses on either the hot gas layer or the fire seat - was charted against the compartment temperatures, heat release rates, oxygen levels and toxic species concentrations. The fire fighting team was exposed to extreme conditions, heat fluxes in excess of 35 kW/m2 and temperatures of the order of 250 oC even at crouching level. The fire equivalence ratio showed rich burning with high toxic emissions in particular of CO and unburnt hydrocarbons very early in the fire history and a stabilisation of the equivalence ratio at about 1.8. The fire fighting operations made the combustion temporarily richer and the emissions even higher

Altered splicing of the BIN1 muscle-specific exon in humans and dogs with highly progressive centronuclear myopathy

Amphiphysin 2, encoded by BIN1, is a key factor for membrane sensing and remodelling in different cell types. Homozygous BIN1 mutations in ubiquitously expressed exons are associated with autosomal recessive centronuclear myopathy (CNM), a mildly progressive muscle disorder typically showing abnormal nuclear centralization on biopsies. In addition, misregulation of BIN1 splicing partially accounts for the muscle defects in myotonic dystrophy (DM). However, the muscle-specific function of amphiphysin 2 and its pathogenicity in both muscle disorders are not well understood. In this study we identified and characterized the first mutation affecting the splicing of the muscle-specific BIN1 exon 11 in a consanguineous family with rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal centronuclear myopathy. In parallel, we discovered a mutation in the same BIN1 exon 11 acceptor splice site as the genetic cause of the canine Inherited Myopathy of Great Danes (IMGD). Analysis of RNA from patient muscle demonstrated complete skipping of exon 11 and BIN1 constructs without exon 11 were unable to promote membrane tubulation in differentiated myotubes. Comparative immunofluorescence and ultrastructural analyses of patient and canine biopsies revealed common structural defects, emphasizing the importance of amphiphysin 2 in membrane remodelling and maintenance of the skeletal muscle triad. Our data demonstrate that the alteration of the muscle-specific function of amphiphysin 2 is a common pathomechanism for centronuclear myopathy, myotonic dystrophy, and IMGD. The IMGD dog is the first faithful model for human BIN1-related CNM and represents a mammalian model available for preclinical trials of potential therapies