Implementation of horizontal well CBM/ECBM technology and the assessment of effective CO2 storage capacity in a Scottish coalfield

Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Composite Energy Ltd., the BG Group, Scottish Power and the Royal Bank of Scotland for their funding and contributions towards the research reported in this paper.Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

An optimal stopping problem for spectrally negative Markov additive processes

Previous authors have considered optimal stopping problems driven by the running maximum of a spectrally negative L\'evy process $X$, as well as of a one-dimensional diffusion. Many of the aforementioned results are either implicitly or explicitly dependent on Peskir's maximality principle. In this article, we are interested in understanding how some of the main ideas from these previous works can be brought into the setting of problems driven by the maximum of a class of Markov additive processes (more precisely Markov modulated L\'evy processes). Similarly to previous works in the L\'evy setting, the optimal stopping boundary is characterised by a system of ordinary first-order differential equations, one for each state of the modulating component of the Markov additive process. Moreover, whereas scale functions played an important role in the previously mentioned work, we work instead with scale matrices for Markov additive processes here. We exemplify our calculations in the setting of the Shepp-Shiryaev optimal stopping problem, as well as a family of capped maximum optimal stopping problems.Comment: 31 page

Probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei effect on cariogenic bacterial flora

Lactobacillus paracasei has been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of many pathogenic microbes such as Streptococcus mutans, in vitro. However, its clinical application remains unclear. Here, we examined whether a novel probiotic L. paracasei GMNL-33 may reduce the caries-associated salivary microbial counts in healthy adults. Seventy-eight subjects (aged 20 to 26) had completed this double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study. A probiotic/test (n = 42) and a control group (n = 36) took a L. paracasei GMNL-33 and a placebo oral tablet three times per day for 2 weeks, respectively. Bacterial counts of salivary S. mutans, lactobacilli, and salivary buffer capacity were measured with chair-side kits at the beginning (T1), the completion (T2) of medication, and 2 weeks after medication (T3). The results did not show differences in the counts of S. mutans and lactobacilli between probiotic and control groups at T1, T2, and T3. Nevertheless, within the probiotic group, an interesting probiotic effect was noticed. Between T1 and T2, no inhibitory effect against S. mutans was observed. However, a significant count reduction in the salivary S. mutans was detected between T2 and T3 (p = 0.016). Thus, a 2-week period of medication via oral administration route may be needed for L. paracasei GMNL-33 to be effective in the probiotic action

Early arrival is not associated with more extra-pair fertilizations in a long-distance migratory bird

When assessing the benefits of early arrival date of migratory birds, a hidden and often ignored component of males’ fitness is the higher chance of early-arriving birds to obtain extra-pair fertilizations. Here we investigated how extra-pair paternity might affect the relationship between male arrival date and number of fertilizations in a model study system, the European pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. For this purpose, we sampled and genotyped breeding pairs, unpaired males and offspring (including embryos from unhatched eggs when possible) of a Dutch pied flycatcher population. Detailed information on arrival date of males, egg laying date of their social mates and nest success was also recorded. Earlyarriving males had early-laying females and males with early-laying females had a higher probability of siring extra-pair eggs and obtain more fertilizations. However, male arrival date alone did not correlate with the probability to gain extra-pair paternity and neither to the amount of fertilized eggs. Both early- and late-arriving males had a higher probability of losing paternity in their own nest compared to birds with an intermediate arrival date. Finally, late-arriving males were more likely to remain unpaired but, interestingly, a few of these birds obtained paternity via extra-pair copulations. Because earlier arrival date did not lead to more extra-pair fertilizations and because such relationship seems to be driven mainly by the female’s laying date, we conclude that the contribution of extra-pair paternity to the overall fitness benefits of early male arrival date is relatively small

Engineered Protein Polymer-Gold Nanoparticle Hybrid Materials for Small Molecule Delivery

We have fabricated protein polymer-gold nanoparticle (P-GNP) nanocomposites that exhibit enhanced binding and delivery properties of the small hydrophobic molecule drug, curcumin, to the model breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. These hybrid biomaterials are constructed via in situ GNP templated-synthesis with genetically engineered histidine tags. The P-GNP nanocomposites exhibit enhanced small molecule loading, sustained release and increased uptake by MCF-7 cells. When compared to the proteins polymers alone, the P-GNPs demonstrate a greater than 7-fold increase in curcumin binding, a nearly 50% slower release profile and more than 2-fold increase in cellular uptake of curcumin. These results suggest that P-GNP nanocomposites serve as promising candidates for drug delivery vehicles

The Relationships of Leptin, Adiponectin Levels and Paraoxonase Activity with Metabolic and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Females Treated with Psychiatric Drugs

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate serum leptin, adiponectin and paraoxonase1 levels in adult females receiving pharmacotherapy for various psychiatric disorders. METHODS: The study group consisted of 32 obese females (mean age 40.53 ± 11.00 years, mean body mass index 35.44 ± 5.33 kg/m²) who were receiving treatment for psychiatric disorders, and the control group included 22 obese females (mean age 35.95 ± 9.16 years, mean body mass index 30.78 ± 3.33 kg/m²) who were free of psychiatric disorders. Analyses were performed using a bioelectrical impedance device. Fasting blood samples were obtained for complete blood count and various biochemical tests, including determination of leptin, adiponectin and paraoxonase1 activity. RESULTS: Body mass index, waist and hip circumference, body fat percentage, fasting blood glucose, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, homeostasis model assesment of insulin resistance, alanine transaminase, aspartate tarnsaminase, and leptin levels were significantly higher in the study group than in controls. Although body weight was positively correlated with leptin levels in both groups, body weight was negatively correlated with adiponectin levels in the control group and positively correlated with adiponectin levels in the study group. In the study group, body mass index and hip circumference correlated positively with leptin levels, hip circumference correlated positively with adiponectin levels, and waist to hip ratio correlated positively with paraoxonase levels. In the control group, body mass index as well as waist and hip circumferences were positively correlated with leptin levels. Weight, body mass index, and hip circumference were also negatively correlated with the adiponectin/leptin ratio in the control group. CONCLUSION: This study indicates a higher risk for obesity-related disorders, particularly metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in patients treated with psychiatric drugs

Keynote Lecture – The Interplay of Multiple Hazards and Urban Development: The context of Istanbul

Tomorrow’s Cities is the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Urban Disaster Risk Hub – an interdisciplinary research hub with the aim to catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed and inclusive planning in four cities in low-and-middle income countries. Istanbul in Turkey is one of the four cities investigated. It is one of the largest urban agglomerations in Europe where more than 15 million people reside in more than 1 million buildings. Considering that the population was 4.75 million in 1980, Istanbul’s urban sprawl was inevitable. Due to an imbalance between the population growth and housing supply, Istanbul’s urbanization was shaped by illegal construction processes producing the gecekondus in almost every part of the city (Gencer and Mentese, 2016). Unplanned urban expansion was so rapid that the urban master plan of 1980, which set the limits and strategies for urban development, became completely invalid by 1989 (Tapan, 1998). This situation led to the development of a new urban master plan in 1994 that included geoscientific analysis, and which highlighted the possibility of losses due to an earthquake on the segments of the North Anatolian Fault in the Marmara Sea. Uncontrolled and unplanned development continued in Istanbul until 1999 when two major earthquakes hit the region causing at least 18.000 deaths and $16 billion economic loss. These events changed the authorities’ perspective to earthquake risk and its mitigation. As a result, the 1998 earthquake resistant design code (published one year before the 1999 earthquakes) was widely embraced and implemented. Furthermore, several urban transformation projects have taken place in the last 20 years for reducing disaster risk. These have had varied success, with research to date showing that areas selected for urban transformation were often chosen on the basis of land value rather than hazard risk, and that a pro-poor approach is missing. Despite these efforts, Istanbul’s earthquake risk remains high. Furthermore, recent urban development plans are seeing the city expand into undeveloped lands to the west, increasing exposure to new hazards, namely flash flooding and landslides. The combined impact of these hazards is not evenly distributed, and the associated risks are heightened by poor infrastructural resilience and social vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate different types of hazards and risks into the urban development context for future scenarios, so that a physically and socio-economically safer development that prioritizes the wellbeing of local communities can be facilitated. This presentation summarises the research conducted in Istanbul over the first 18 months of the Tomorrow’s Cities Project by a consortium of Turkish and UK researchers. This research spans the better characterisation of earthquake and landslide hazards, development of analysis methods for predicting the response of case study buildings to multiple hazards and a Bayesian network based approach for assessing road infrastructure resilience under multiple hazard scenarios. Furthermore, plans for building a Resilient Urban Development Decision Support Environment (RUD-DSE) for communicating the relevance of this research on future urban planning is described

Mechanism of action of probiotics

The modern diet doesn't provide the required amount of beneficial bacteria. Maintenance of a proper microbial ecology in the host is the main criteria to be met for a healthy growth. Probiotics are one such alternative that are supplemented to the host where by and large species of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces are considered as main probiotics. The field of probiotics has made stupendous strides though there is no major break through in the identification of their mechanism of action. They exert their activity primarily by strengthening the intestinal barrier and immunomodulation. The main objective of the study was to provide a deep insight into the effect of probiotics against the diseases, their applications and proposed mechanism of action

Cell-selective metabolic labeling of proteins

Metabolic labeling of proteins with the methionine surrogate azidonorleucine can be targeted exclusively to specified cells through expression of a mutant methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS). In complex cellular mixtures, proteins made in cells that express the mutant synthetase can be tagged with affinity reagents (for detection or enrichment) or fluorescent dyes (for imaging). Proteins made in cells that do not express the mutant synthetase are neither labeled nor detected