TRANSMISSION OF VIBRATION ABOUT THE KNEE

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe effects of knee flexion angle, stance width and vibration platform frequency on the transmission of vertical acceleration about the knee. Fifteen adults were exposed to various vibration conditions while standing on a side-to-side vibration platform. Vertical acceleration data, expressed as transmission, were shown to be attenuated for all vibration conditions. A larger degree of knee flexion however, was conducive to greater attenuation about the knee. Such information may be used to develop vibration training programs with a more thorough understanding of effects of vibration

Structure and Innervation of the Extrahepatic Biliary System in the Australian Possum, Trichosurus Vulpecula

The morphology, microanatomy and innervation of the biliary tree of the Australian possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, was examined. The gross morphology of the gallbladder, hepatic and cystic ducts, and the course of the common bile duct, conforms to those of other species. The sphincter of Oddi has an extraduodenal segment that extends 15mm from the duodenal wall; within this segment the pancreatic and common bile ducts are ensheathed together by sphincter muscle. Their lumens unite to form a common channel within the terminal intraduodenal segment

Behaviour and fate of nine recycled water trace organics during managed aquifer recharge in an aerobic aquifer

The fate of nine trace organic compounds was evaluated during a 12 month large-scale laboratory column experiment. The columns were packed with aquifer sediment and evaluated under natural aerobic and artificial anaerobic geochemical conditions, to assess the potential for natural attenuation of these compounds during aquifer passage associated with managed aquifer recharge (MAR). The nine trace organic compounds were bisphenol A (BPA), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosomorpholine (NMOR), carbamazepine, oxazepam, iohexol and iodipamide. In the loworganic carbon content Spearwood sediment, all trace organicswere non-retardedwith retardation coefficients between 1.0 and 1.2, indicating that these compounds would travel at near groundwater velocities within the aquifer. The natural aerobic geochemical conditions provided a suitable environment for the rapid degradation for BPA, E2, iohexol (half life b1 day). Lag-times for the start of degradation of these compounds ranged from b15 to 30 days. While iodipamide was persistent under aerobic conditions, artificial reductive geochemical conditions promoted via the addition of ethanol, resulted in rapid degradation (half life b1 days). Pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine and oxazepam) and disinfection by-products (NDMA and NMOR) did not degrade under either aerobic or anaerobic aquifer geochemical conditions (half life N50 days). Field-based validation experiments with carbamazepine and oxazepam also showed no degradation. If persistent trace organics are present in recycled waters at concentrations in excess of their intended use, natural attenuation during aquifer passage alonemay not result in extracted watermeeting regulatory requirements. Additional pre treatment of the recycled water would therefore be required

Promoting dietary changes for achieving health and sustainability targets

Globally, about 21–37% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to food systems. Dietary-related non-communicable diseases have increased significantly from 1990–2019 at a global scale. To achieve carbon emissions targets, increase resilience, and improve health there is a need to increase the sustainability of agricultural practises and change dietary habits. By considering these challenges together and focusing on a closer connection between consumers and sustainable production, we can benefit from a positive interaction between them. Using the 2019 EAT Lancet Commission dietary guidelines, this study analysed interview data and food diaries collected from members of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes and the wider UK population. By comparing the environmental sustainability and nutritional quality of their respective diets, we found that CSA members consumed diets closer to the EAT Lancet recommendations than controls. We identified significant differences in daily intakes of meat; dairy; vegetables; legumes; and sugar, and the diets of CSA members emitted on average 28% less CO2 compared to controls. We propose that agricultural and wider social and economic policies that increase the accessibility of CSAs for a more diverse demographic could support achieving health, biodiversity, and zero-emission policy targets

Pan-cancer deconvolution of cellular composition identifies molecular correlates of antitumour immunity and checkpoint blockade response

The nature and extent of immune cell infiltration into solid tumours are key determinants of therapeutic response. Here, using a novel DNA methylation-based approach to tumour cell fraction deconvolution, we report the integrated analysis of tumour composition and genomics across a wide spectrum of solid cancers. Initially studying head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, we identify two distinct tumour subgroups: ‘immune hot’ and ‘immune cold’, which display differing prognosis, mutation burden, cytokine signalling, cytolytic activity, and oncogenic driver events. We demonstrate the existence of such tumour subgroups pan-cancer, link clonal-neoantigen burden to hot tumours, and show that transcriptional signatures of hot tumours are selectively engaged in immunotherapy responders. We also find that treatment-naive hot tumours are markedly enriched for known immune-resistance genomic alterations and define a catalogue of novel and known mediators of active antitumour immunity, deriving biomarkers and potential targets for precision immunotherapy

Mechanotransduction is required for establishing and maintaining mature inner hair cells and regulating efferent innervation

In the adult auditory organ, mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) channels are essential for transducing acoustic stimuli into electrical signals. In the absence of incoming sound, a fraction of the MET channels on top of the sensory hair cells are open, resulting in a sustained depolarizing current. By genetically manipulating the in vivo expression of molecular components of the MET apparatus, we show that during pre-hearing stages the MET current is essential for establishing the electrophysiological properties of mature inner hair cells (IHCs). If the MET current is abolished in adult IHCs, they revert into cells showing electrical and morphological features characteristic of pre-hearing IHCs, including the re-establishment of cholinergic efferent innervation. The MET current is thus critical for the maintenance of the functional properties of adult IHCs, implying a degree of plasticity in the mature auditory system in response to the absence of normal transduction of acoustic signals

The RMS Survey: Resolving kinematic distance ambiguities towards a sample of compact HII regions using HI absorption

We present high-resolution HI data obtained using the Australia Telescope Compact Array to resolve the near/far distance ambiguities towards a sample of compact HII regions from the Red MSX Source (RMS) survey. The high resolution data are complemented with lower resolution archival HI data extracted from the Southern and VLA Galactic Plane surveys. We resolve the distance ambiguity for nearly all of the 105 sources where the continuum was strong enough to allow analysis of the HI absorption line structure. This represents another step in the determination of distances to the total RMS sample, which with over 1,000 massive young stellar objects and compact HII regions, is the largest and most complete sample of its kind. The full sample will allow the distribution of massive star formation in the Galaxy to be examined.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. This paper consists of 15 pages and contains 10 figures and 5 table

The drying of sewage sludge by immersion frying

The objective of this work was to dry sewage sludge using a fry-drying process. The frying experiments were carried out in commercial fryers modified by adding thermocouples to the setup. During frying, typical drying curves were obtained and it was verified that, in relation to the parameters: oil temperature, oil type and shape of the sample, the shape factor the most effect on the drying rate, at least within the range chosen for the variables studied. Oil uptake and calorific value were also analyzed. The calorific value of the samples increased with frying time, reaching values around 24MJ/kg after 600s of frying (comparable to biocombustibles such as wood and sugarcane bagasse). The process of immersion frying showed great potential for drying materials, especially sewage sludge, obtaining a product with a high energy content, thereby increasing its value as a combustible

The melanoma-specific graded prognostic assessment does not adequately discriminate prognosis in a modern population with brain metastases from malignant melanoma

The melanoma-specific graded prognostic assessment (msGPA) assigns patients with brain metastases from malignant melanoma to 1 of 4 prognostic groups. It was largely derived using clinical data from patients treated in the era that preceded the development of newer therapies such as BRAF, MEK and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Therefore, its current relevance to patients diagnosed with brain metastases from malignant melanoma is unclear. This study is an external validation of the msGPA in two temporally distinct British populations.Performance of the msGPA was assessed in Cohort I (1997-2008, n=231) and Cohort II (2008-2013, n=162) using Kaplan-Meier methods and Harrell's c-index of concordance. Cox regression was used to explore additional factors that may have prognostic relevance.The msGPA does not perform well as a prognostic score outside of the derivation cohort, with suboptimal statistical calibration and discrimination, particularly in those patients with an intermediate prognosis. Extra-cerebral metastases, leptomeningeal disease, age and potential use of novel targeted agents after brain metastases are diagnosed, should be incorporated into future prognostic models.An improved prognostic score is required to underpin high-quality randomised controlled trials in an area with a wide disparity in clinical care