Survey, characterisation and condition assessment of Palustriella dominated springs 'H7220 petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion)in Wales

This report contains baseline information for Article 17 reporting in Wales for the Annex 1 habitat H7220 Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion). Natural Resources Wales selected a total of 14 sites, across Wales for inclusion within the study. Only one site, Nant Peris, is part of a designated SAC (Eryri SAC) where petrifying springs are a notifiable feature and as such they had benefited from prior study (see Creer, 2012). The remaining sites included within this survey were associated with a mixture of designated and undesignated sites for which there was little to no baseline information on the petrifying spring habitats. A methodology was devised and applied where possible at each site, involving an ecologist (Jonathan Graham) and a hydrogeologist (Gareth Farr) working together. It was important that both the hydrological and ecological surveys were undertaken simultaneously in order to make important linkages between hydrological supporting condition, the occurrence of species and condition of the site. Each survey started with a ‘site walkover’ to allow familiarisation with the site and to help form initial conceptual ideas. Following this a vegetation survey and collection of species for detailed identification for both bryophytes, lichens and flowering plants was undertaken, using the DAFOR scale. A total of 130 species were recorded including 77 flowering plants, 46 bryophytes, one club moss, two ferns, 3 horsetails, 2 blue green algae and one charophyte. Detailed maps were drawn for key sites within this study. Elevation data shows that Palustriella falcata occurs over a smaller range within an upland setting and Palustriella commutata occurs over a wider range in a primarily (but not exclusively) lowland setting. In situ water quality readings and lab analysed samples were collected proving the sites were dominantly Calcium Bicarbonate type waters, however some sites such as Nant Peris were much less calcareous, with the majority of sites having very low levels of nutrients. Vegetation transects accompanied by field readings of water quality were undertaken whenever possible showing that there can be dramatic changes in pH over very small distances (<1m). An assessment was made of the immediate catchment, with the aim of identifying any hydrological threats or pressures to the habitats. Two broad group are proposed for this habitat in Wales Group 1: mainly upland or open hills and dominated by Palustriella falcata, it is species rich and has a greater number of associated flowering plant species. Group 2: mainly lowland and dominated by Palustriella commutata, it is species poor and associated more with partially shaded (i.e not open) sites. Each group is further divided into two subgroups ‘ Group A and Group B’ . Palustriella dominated springs occurred across a range of geologies (not all Carboniferous Limestone) and also associated with a mixture of bedrock, superficial and made ground. Importantly active or historic tufa deposition was not observed at all sites. Visual estimates of flow varied but were frequently low and diffuse. Condition assessments suggest that all of the sites included within this study should be considered as being in both favourable ecological and hydrogeological condition

Early Advanced LIGO binary neutron-star sky localization and parameter estimation

2015 will see the first observations of Advanced LIGO and the start of the gravitational-wave (GW) advanced-detector era. One of the most promising sources for ground-based GW detectors are binary neutron-star (BNS) coalescences. In order to use any detections for astrophysics, we must understand the capabilities of our parameter-estimation analysis. By simulating the GWs from an astrophysically motivated population of BNSs, we examine the accuracy of parameter inferences in the early advanced-detector era. We find that sky location, which is important for electromagnetic follow-up, can be determined rapidly (~5 s), but that sky areas may be hundreds of square degrees. The degeneracy between component mass and spin means there is significant uncertainty for measurements of the individual masses and spins; however, the chirp mass is well measured (typically better than 0.1%).Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Published in the proceedings of Amaldi 1

Conceptualizing Cybercrime: Definitions, Typologies and Taxonomies

Cybercrime is becoming ever more pervasive and yet the lack of consensus surrounding what constitutes a cybercrime has a significant impact on society, legal and policy response, and academic research. Difficulties in understanding cybercrime begin with the variability in terminology and lack of consistency in cybercrime legislation across jurisdictions. In this review, using a structured literature review methodology, key cybercrime definitions, typologies and taxonomies were identified across a range of academic and non-academic (grey literature) sources. The findings of this review were consolidated and presented in the form of a new classification framework to understand cybercrime and cyberdeviance. Existing definitions, typologies and taxonomies were evaluated, and key challenges were identified. Whilst conceptualizing cybercrime will likely remain a challenge, this review provides recommendations for future work to advance towards a universal understanding of cybercrime phenomena as well as a robust and comprehensive classification system

Involvement of E-Cadherin in Thymus Organogenesisand Thymocyte Maturation

AbstractWe examined the role of E-cadherin expressed by thymic epithelial cells and immature thymocytes in thymus organogenesis and thymocyte development. ECCD-1 MAb, which blocks homotypic E-cadherin interactions, inhibited epithelial organization and thymocyte development in reaggregate fetal thymic organ cultures. It also interfered with the differentiation of fetal liver cells or fetal thymocytes within deoxyguanosine-treated thymic lobes, but did not affect thymocyte development in intact cultured fetal thymic lobes. In contrast, antibodies that selectively inhibit interactions between E-cadherin and αEβ7 integrins did not perturb thymic epithelial organization or thymocyte development, suggesting that homotypic E-cadherin interactions play an important role in thymus development and function

Supplement: Going the Distance: Mapping Host Galaxies of LIGO and Virgo Sources in Three Dimensions Using Local Cosmography and Targeted Follow-up

This is a supplement to the Letter of Singer et al. (https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.07333), in which we demonstrated a rapid algorithm for obtaining joint 3D estimates of sky location and luminosity distance from observations of binary neutron star mergers with Advanced LIGO and Virgo. We argued that combining the reconstructed volumes with positions and redshifts of possible host galaxies can provide large-aperture but small field of view instruments with a manageable list of targets to search for optical or infrared emission. In this Supplement, we document the new HEALPix-based file format for 3D localizations of gravitational-wave transients. We include Python sample code to show the reader how to perform simple manipulations of the 3D sky maps and extract ranked lists of likely host galaxies. Finally, we include mathematical details of the rapid volume reconstruction algorithm.Comment: For associated data release, see http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Leo.Singer/going-the-distanc

Prescribing “placebo treatments”: results of national survey of US internists and rheumatologists

Objective To describe the attitudes and behaviours regarding placebo treatments, defined as a treatment whose benefits derive from positive patient expectations and not from the physiological mechanism of the treatment itself

A pilot hole does not reduce the strains or risk of fracture to the lateral cortex during and following a medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy in cadaveric specimens

© 2018 Bujnowski et al. Aim: It has been suggested that the use of a pilot-hole may reduce the risk of fracture to the lateral cortex. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a pilot hole on the strains and occurrence of fractures at the lateral cortex during the opening of a high tibial osteotomy (HTO) and post-surgery loading. Materials and Methods: A total of 14 cadaveric tibias were randomized to either a pilot hole (n = 7) or a no-hole (n = 7) condition. Lateral cortex strains were measured while the osteotomy was opened 9 mm and secured in place with a locking plate. The tibias were then subjected to an initial 800 N load that increased by 200 N every 5000 cycles, until failure or a maximum load of 2500 N. Results: There was no significant difference in the strains on the lateral cortex during HTO opening between the pilot hole and no-hole conditions. Similarly, the lateral cortex and fixation plate strains were not significantly different during cyclic loading between the two conditions. Using a pilot hole did not significantly decrease the strains experienced at the lateral cortex, nor did it reduce the risk of fracture. Conclusions: The nonsignificant differences found here most likely occurred because the pilot hole merely translated the stress concentration laterally to a parallel point on the surface of the hole

Novel and Known Protein Tyrosine Kinases and Their Abnormal Expression in Human Melanoma

We have used the polymerase chain reaction and Northern blotting to identify protein tyrosine kinases that may play an an important role in the process of melanoma initiation and progression. Degenerate primers from the conserved catalytic domain of tyrosine kinase genes were used to amplify and clone partial cDNA sequences from a human melanoma cell line (DX3-LT5.1) and normal human melanocytes. When the melanoma reaction products were sequenced, 13 distinct clones were found, of which one is novel to date and has provisionally been named MEK (for melanocytic kinase). Of the remaining 12 known kinases, only two, ERB-B2 and IGFI-1-R, have previously been reported in pigment cells. Reaction products from melanocytes included only eight of these 13 sequences. To test for quantitative differences in tyrosine kinase expression between normal and malignant cells, a panel of eight melanoma lines and normal melanocytes was analyzed by Northern blotting. Two tyrosine kinases (JTK-14/TIE and TYRO-9) were detected in some melanomas but were not found in normal melanocytes, whereas others, including MEK, appeared to be overexpressed in some malignant lines. A minority of kinases showed either no change or a reduction in the level of mRNA. Expression of tyrosine kinases varied independently, and individual lines contained various combinations of these enzymes. Our findings are consistent with an increased overall expression of these putative growth factor receptors during melanoma development