ON THE QUANTUM THEORY OF ISOTOPE EFFECTS IN ELECTROMIGRATION AND THERMOMIGRATION OF LIGHT INTERSTITIALS

The electromigration and thermomigration of light interstitials, such as hydrogen in metals, have been examined in terms of the quantum theory of diffusion of Flynn and Stoneham. The pronounced isotope effect observed in the effective charge Z* is shown to come from the differences in the self trapping distortions of the various isotopes. The qualitative dependence of Z* on isotope, host lattice and temperature are correctly predicted. The interstitial contribution to the reduced heat of transport Q* is calculated directly from the quantum theory

Driving under the influence of an intoxicant in Ireland.

The number of specimens analysed by the MBRS has been increasing for both alcohol and drugs. Blood and urine specimens are analysed for the concentration of alcohol using Headspace Gas Chromatography. Specimens testing positive were forwarded to the State Laboratory for confirmatory analysis by either GC/MS or LC/MS. In 2000, 93 per cent of blood specimens, 91 per cent of urine specimens and 82 per cent of breath specimens were over the limit. In the same year, 57 per cent of blood specimens, 66 per cent of urine specimens and 33 per cent of breath specimens were over twice the limit. Of the 78 specimens tested for the presence of a drug or drugs, 37 were blood specimens and 41 urine specimens. Of these, 34 blood specimens and 37 urine specimens were found to be positive, while seven specimens were negative for the drug or drug classes tested (three blood and four urine specimens). There were 23 specimens found positive for one drug class and 48 for more than one drug.The number of requests for the presence of drugs in RTA blood and urine specimens is increasing annually and the high percentage of positives found in the specimens tested indicates the need for such analyses. The results showed excellent agreement for drug detection in the blood specimens analysed by the different methods, except for the cannabinoids. The number of specimens in this study is small and care must be exercised in interpreting the results

Sea quark effects in B_K from N_f=2 clover-improved Wilson fermions

We report calculations of the parameter B_K appearing in the Delta S=2 neutral kaon mixing matrix element, whose uncertainty limits the power of unitarity triangle constraints for testing the standard model or looking for new physics. We use two flavours of dynamical clover-improved Wilson lattice fermions and look for dependence on the dynamical quark mass at fixed lattice spacing. We see some evidence for dynamical quark effects and in particular B_K decreases as the sea quark masses are reduced towards the up/down quark mass.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, uses JHEP3.cls, added comments and reference

The microaerophilic microbiota of de-novo paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: the BISCUIT study

<p>Introduction: Children presenting for the first time with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) offer a unique opportunity to study aetiological agents before the confounders of treatment. Microaerophilic bacteria can exploit the ecological niche of the intestinal epithelium; Helicobacter and Campylobacter are previously implicated in IBD pathogenesis. We set out to study these and other microaerophilic bacteria in de-novo paediatric IBD.</p> <p>Patients and Methods: 100 children undergoing colonoscopy were recruited including 44 treatment naïve de-novo IBD patients and 42 with normal colons. Colonic biopsies were subjected to microaerophilic culture with Gram-negative isolates then identified by sequencing. Biopsies were also PCR screened for the specific microaerophilic bacterial groups: Helicobacteraceae, Campylobacteraceae and Sutterella wadsworthensis.</p> <p>Results: 129 Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterial isolates were identified from 10 genera. The most frequently cultured was S. wadsworthensis (32 distinct isolates). Unusual Campylobacter were isolated from 8 subjects (including 3 C. concisus, 1 C. curvus, 1 C. lari, 1 C. rectus, 3 C. showae). No Helicobacter were cultured. When comparing IBD vs. normal colon control by PCR the prevalence figures were not significantly different (Helicobacter 11% vs. 12%, p = 1.00; Campylobacter 75% vs. 76%, p = 1.00; S. wadsworthensis 82% vs. 71%, p = 0.312).</p> <p>Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive overview of the microaerophilic microbiota of the paediatric colon including at IBD onset. Campylobacter appear to be surprisingly common, are not more strongly associated with IBD and can be isolated from around 8% of paediatric colonic biopsies. S. wadsworthensis appears to be a common commensal. Helicobacter species are relatively rare in the paediatric colon.</p&gt

Assessing Natural Resource Use by Forest-Reliant Communities in Madagascar Using Functional Diversity and Functional Redundancy Metrics

Biodiversity plays an integral role in the livelihoods of subsistence-based forest-dwelling communities and as a consequence it is increasingly important to develop quantitative approaches that capture not only changes in taxonomic diversity, but also variation in natural resources and provisioning services. We apply a functional diversity metric originally developed for addressing questions in community ecology to assess utilitarian diversity of 56 forest plots in Madagascar. The use categories for utilitarian plants were determined using expert knowledge and household questionnaires. We used a null model approach to examine the utilitarian (functional) diversity and utilitarian redundancy present within ecological communities. Additionally, variables that might influence fluctuations in utilitarian diversity and redundancy—specifically number of felled trees, number of trails, basal area, canopy height, elevation, distance from village—were analyzed using Generalized Linear Models (GLMs). Eighteen of the 56 plots showed utilitarian diversity values significantly higher than expected. This result indicates that these habitats exhibited a low degree of utilitarian redundancy and were therefore comprised of plants with relatively distinct utilitarian properties. One implication of this finding is that minor losses in species richness may result in reductions in utilitarian diversity and redundancy, which may limit local residents' ability to switch between alternative choices. The GLM analysis showed that the most predictive model included basal area, canopy height and distance from village, which suggests that variation in utilitarian redundancy may be a result of local residents harvesting resources from the protected area. Our approach permits an assessment of the diversity of provisioning services available to local communities, offering unique insights that would not be possible using traditional taxonomic diversity measures. These analyses introduce another tool available to conservation biologists for assessing how future losses in biodiversity will lead to a reduction in natural resources and provisioning services from forests

Comparative Studies of the Pyrolytic and Kinetic Characteristics of Maize Straw and the Seaweed Ulva pertusa

Seaweed has attracted considerable attention as a potential biofuel feedstock. The pyrolytic and kinetic characteristics of maize straw and the seaweed Ulva pertusa were studied and compared using heating rates of 10, 30 and 50°C min−1 under an inert atmosphere. The activation energy, and pre-exponential factors were calculated by the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Popescu methods. The kinetic mechanism was deduced by the Popescu method. The results indicate that there are three stages to the pyrolysis; dehydration, primary devolatilization and residual decomposition. There were significant differences in average activation energy, thermal stability, final residuals and reaction rates between the two materials. The primary devolatilization stage of U. pertusa can be described by the Avramic-Erofeev equation (n = 3), whereas that of maize straw can be described by the Mampel Power Law (n = 2). The average activation energy of maize straw and U. pertusa were 153.0 and 148.7 KJ mol−1, respectively. The pyrolysis process of U.pertusa would be easier than maize straw. And co-firing of the two biomass may be require less external heat input and improve process stability. There were minor kinetic compensation effects between the pre-exponential factors and the activation energy

Animal abuse and intimate partner violence: researching the link and its significance in Ireland - a veterinary perspective

Research on domestic violence has established a substantial association between intimate partner abuse and the abuse of children within the home. It is only recently however, that researchers have demonstrated the correlation between non-accidental injury in animals, and abuse of women by their intimate male partners. A growing body of evidence suggests that animal abuse can be an early indicator for other forms of violent behaviour. This research includes the responses of a sample of 23 women using refuge services in the Republic of Ireland. It investigates the connection between domestic violence and animal abuse, and ascertains if there is sufficient support service for animals and people relevant to domestic abuse. In the survey population, 57% of women reported witnessing one or more forms of abuse, or threats of abuse, of their pets. Five of which were reported to have resulted in the death of the pet. Eighty seven per cent of women felt a facility to accommodate pets would have made their decision to leave the family home easier. Four women disclosed that lack of such a service and concern for the welfare of their companion animals caused them to remain in their abusive relationships for longer than they felt appropriate. Nine families placed pets in the care of family or friends, one woman is unaware of the fate of her pet, while the pets of six families remained with the abusive male after his partner entered a refuge. The majority of women felt unable to talk to anyone about their fears for their pets' welfare. Many felt that there is no service which can provide temporary accommodation for womens' pets while they are in refuge. The results obtained support those found elsewhere in larger studies in the USA and UK, and demonstrate an association of animal abuse in households where there is reported domestic violence

Expression of RHOGTPase regulators in human myometrium

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RHOGTPases play a significant role in modulating myometrial contractility in uterine smooth muscle. They are regulated by at least three families of proteins, RHO guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RHOGEFs), RHOGTPase-activating proteins (RHOGAPs) and RHO guanine nucleotide inhibitors (RHOGDIs). RHOGEFs activate RHOGTPases from the inactive GDP-bound to the active GTP-bound form. RHOGAPs deactivate RHOGTPases by accelerating the intrinsic GTPase activity of the RHOGTPases, converting them from the active to the inactive form. RHOGDIs bind to GDP-bound RHOGTPases and sequester them in the cytosol, thereby inhibiting their activity. Ezrin-Radixin-Moesin (ERM) proteins regulate the cortical actin cytoskeleton, and an ERM protein, moesin (MSN), is activated by and can also activate RHOGTPases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We therefore investigated the expression of various RHOGEFs, RHOGAPs, a RHOGDI and MSN in human myometrium, by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR, real-time fluorescence RT-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. Expression of these molecules was also examined in myometrial smooth muscle cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ARHGEF1, ARHGEF11, ARHGEF12, ARHGAP5, ARHGAP24, ARHGDIA and MSN mRNA and protein expression was confirmed in human myometrium at term pregnancy, at labour and in the non-pregnant state. Furthermore, their expression was detected in myometrial smooth muscle cells. It was determined that ARHGAP24 mRNA expression significantly increased at labour in comparison to the non-labour state.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrated for the first time the expression of the RHOGTPase regulators ARHGEF1, ARHGEF11, ARHGEF12, ARHGAP5, ARHGAP24, ARHGDIA and MSN in human myometrium, at term pregnancy, at labour, in the non-pregnant state and also in myometrial smooth muscle cells. ARHGAP24 mRNA expression significantly increased at labour in comparison to the non-labouring state. Further investigation of these molecules may enable us to further our knowledge of RHOGTPase regulation in human myometrium during pregnancy and labour.</p