Management of Impacts of Longwall Mining under Urban Areas

Current and proposed expansions to existing underground coal mines are occurring in closer proximity to and directly beneath urban areas. The density of built infrastructure potentially impacted by longwall mining is substantially increased in urban areas when compared with mining beneath rural areas. Management of the impacts of longwall mining in such areas requires extensive consultation with the affected community, including education and management of communities’ expectations regarding what could be expected during and after the mining period. Approaches undertaken by Tahmoor Colliery to manage the potential impacts of mining under the township of Tahmoor are discussed. A summary of impacts that have occurred as a result of mining the first two longwalls are outlined, which are part of a series of eight longwalls that the Colliery plans to mine beneath this town. The experience gained at Tahmoor illustrates that longwall mining beneath urban areas is sustainable and can be successfully managed to mitigate the impacts on surface developments

Esmethadone (REL-1017) and Other Uncompetitive NMDAR Channel Blockers May Improve Mood Disorders via Modulation of Synaptic Kinase-Mediated Signaling

This article presents a mechanism of action hypothesis to explain the rapid antidepressant effects of esmethadone (REL-1017) and other uncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists and presents a corresponding mechanism of disease hypothesis for major depressive disorder (MDD). Esmethadone and other uncompetitive NMDAR antagonists may restore physiological neural plasticity in animal models of depressive-like behavior and in patients with MDD via preferential tonic block of pathologically hyperactive GluN2D subtypes. Tonic Ca2+ currents via GluN2D subtypes regulate the homeostatic availability of synaptic proteins. MDD and depressive behaviors may be determined by reduced homeostatic availability of synaptic proteins, due to upregulated tonic Ca2+ currents through GluN2D subtypes. The preferential activity of low-potency NMDAR antagonists for GluN2D subtypes may explain their rapid antidepressant effects in the absence of dissociative side effects

Cama de frango como substrato para a produção de biogás após diferentes períodos de estocagem.

RESUMO: Na avicultura a cama de frango é produzida sazonalmente, em função do modo de produção. Para obter energia do biogás por meio da biodigestão da cama de frango, de forma contínua, o armazenamento do resíduo pode ser uma solução. Ensaios de Potencial Bioquímico de Metano (BMP) foram utilizados neste trabalho para estimar a capacidade de produção de biogás e metano da cama de frango removida após o sexto lote de reutilização e a diferentes tempos de armazenamento após a coleta, assim, verificar a viabilidade de utilização da cama de frango como um substrato em unidade produtora de biogás. A produção de biogás e metano, nas amostras em diferentes períodos de armazenamento, foi comparada: antes de armazenar 245 LN biogas.kgSV adic-1 e 159 LN CH4.kgSV adic-11, seis meses com 252 LN biogas.kgSV adic-1 e 160 LN CH4.kgSV adic-1 e um ano 209 LN biogas.kgSV adic-1 e 117 LNCH4.kgSV adic-1, demonstrando que o período de armazenamento é caracterizado por uma relativa perda do conteúdo de matéria orgânica após um ano, contudo, não há diferença significativa entre a produção de biogás e metano após seis meses armazenada e antes de armazenar. Verificou-se a viabilidade da estocagem de cama de frango do sexto lote de reutilização, no período de seis meses, sem perda significativa de matéria orgânica para a conversão em biogás e metano. ABSTRACT: In poultry litter is produced seasonally due to production mode. To get energy from biogas through the bio digestion of poultry litter, continuously, the storage of the residue can be a solution. Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) assays were used in this study to estimate the production of biogas and methane poultry litter removed after the sixth lot of reuse and in different storage times after collect, so check the feasibility of use poultry litter as a feedstock in biogas producer unit. The production of biogas and methane in the samples in different periods of storage was compared: before storage 245 LN biogas.kgVS add-1 E 159 LN C H4 kg SV add-1, six months with 252 LN biogas.kgVS add-1 e 160 LN C H4 kg SV add-1 and a year 209 LN biogas.kgVS add-1 and one year 117 LN C H4 kg SV add-1, demonstrating that the storage period is characterized by a relative loss of content of organic matter after a year, however there's no significant difference between the production of biogas and methane in six months storaged and before storage . It was verified the viability of storage of poultry litter of the sixth lot of reuse, in the six-month period, without significant loss of organic matter for conversion to biogas and methane

Spondyloenchondrodysplasia Due to Mutations in ACP5: A Comprehensive Survey

Purpose: Spondyloenchondrodysplasia is a rare immuno-osseous dysplasia caused by biallelic mutations in ACP5. We aimed to provide a survey of the skeletal, neurological and immune manifestations of this disease in a cohort of molecularly confirmed cases. Methods: We compiled clinical, genetic and serological data from a total of 26 patients from 18 pedigrees, all with biallelic ACP5 mutations. Results: We observed a variability in skeletal, neurological and immune phenotypes, which was sometimes marked even between affected siblings. In total, 22 of 26 patients manifested autoimmune disease, most frequently autoimmune thrombocytopenia and systemic lupus erythematosus. Four patients were considered to demonstrate no clinical autoimmune disease, although two were positive for autoantibodies. In the majority of patients tested we detected upregulated expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), in keeping with the autoimmune phenotype and the likely immune-regulatory function of the deficient protein tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Two mutation positive patients did not demonstrate an upregulation of ISGs, including one patient with significant autoimmune disease controlled by immunosuppressive therapy. Conclusions: Our data expand the known phenotype of SPENCD. We propose that the OMIM differentiation between spondyloenchondrodysplasia and spondyloenchondrodysplasia with immune dysregulation is no longer appropriate, since the molecular evidence that we provide suggests that these phenotypes represent a continuum of the same disorder. In addition, the absence of an interferon signature following immunomodulatory treatments in a patient with significant autoimmune disease may indicate a therapeutic response important for the immune manifestations of spondyloenchondrodysplasia

Fecal Calprotectin Excretion in Preterm Infants during the Neonatal Period

Fecal calprotectin has been proposed as a non-invasive marker of intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease in adults and children. Fecal calprotectin levels have been reported to be much higher in both healthy full-term and preterm infants than in children and adults.To determine the time course of fecal calprotectin (f-calprotectin) excretion in preterm infants from birth until hospital discharge and to identify factors influencing f-calprotectin levels in the first weeks of life, including bacterial establishment in the gut.F-calprotectin was determined using an ELISA assay in 147 samples obtained prospectively from 47 preterm infants (gestational age, and birth-weight interquartiles 27–29 weeks, and 880–1320 g, respectively) at birth, and at 2-week intervals until hospital discharge. (p = 0.047).During the first weeks of life, the high f-calprotectin values observed in preterm infants could be linked to the gut bacterial establishment

IL-12Rβ1 Deficiency in Two of Fifty Children with Severe Tuberculosis from Iran, Morocco, and Turkey

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In the last decade, autosomal recessive IL-12Rβ1 deficiency has been diagnosed in four children with severe tuberculosis from three unrelated families from Morocco, Spain, and Turkey, providing proof-of-principle that tuberculosis in otherwise healthy children may result from single-gene inborn errors of immunity. We aimed to estimate the fraction of children developing severe tuberculosis due to IL-12Rβ1 deficiency in areas endemic for tuberculosis and where parental consanguinity is common. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We searched for IL12RB1 mutations in a series of 50 children from Iran, Morocco, and Turkey. All children had established severe pulmonary and/or disseminated tuberculosis requiring hospitalization and were otherwise normally resistant to weakly virulent BCG vaccines and environmental mycobacteria. In one child from Iran and another from Morocco, homozygosity for loss-of-function IL12RB1 alleles was documented, resulting in complete IL-12Rβ1 deficiency. Despite the small sample studied, our findings suggest that IL-12Rβ1 deficiency is not a very rare cause of pediatric tuberculosis in these countries, where it should be considered in selected children with severe disease. SIGNIFICANCE: This finding may have important medical implications, as recombinant IFN-γ is an effective treatment for mycobacterial infections in IL-12Rβ1-deficient patients. It also provides additional support for the view that severe tuberculosis in childhood may result from a collection of single-gene inborn errors of immunity

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emicetic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations