What is going wrong with community engagement? How flood communities and flood authorities construct engagement and partnership working

In this paper, we discuss the need for flood risk management in England that engages stakeholders with flooding and its management processes, including knowledge gathering, planning and decision-making. By comparing and contrasting how flood communities experience ‘community engagement’ and ‘partnership working’, through the medium of an online questionnaire, with the process’s and ways of working that the Environment Agency use when ‘working with others’, we demonstrate that flood risk management is caught up in technocratic ways of working derived from long-standing historical practices of defending agricultural land from water. Despite the desire to move towards more democratised ways of working which enable an integrated approach to managing flood risk, the technocratic framing still pervades contemporary flood risk management. We establish that this can disconnect society from flooding and negatively impacts the implementation of more participatory approaches designed to engage flood communities in partnership working. Through the research in this paper it becomes clear that adopting a stepwise, one-size-fits-all approach to engagement fails to recognise that communities are heterogenous and that good engagement requires gaining an understanding of the social dimensions of a community. Successful engagement takes time, effort and the establishment of trust and utilises social learning and pooling of knowledge to create a better understanding of flooding, and that this can lead to increasing societal connectivity to flooding and its impacts

Perturbed cholesterol and vesicular trafficking associated with dengue blocking in Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti cells

Wolbachia are intracellular maternally inherited bacteria that can spread through insect populations and block virus transmission by mosquitoes, providing an important approach to dengue control. To better understand the mechanisms of virus inhibition, we here perform proteomic quantification of the effects of Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti mosquito cells and midgut. Perturbations are observed in vesicular trafficking, lipid metabolism and in the endoplasmic reticulum that could impact viral entry and replication. Wolbachia-infected cells display a differential cholesterol profile, including elevated levels of esterified cholesterol, that is consistent with perturbed intracellular cholesterol trafficking. Cyclodextrins have been shown to reverse lipid accumulation defects in cells with disrupted cholesterol homeostasis. Treatment of Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti cells with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin restores dengue replication in Wolbachia-carrying cells, suggesting dengue is inhibited in Wolbachia-infected cells by localised cholesterol accumulation. These results demonstrate parallels between the cellular Wolbachia viral inhibition phenotype and lipid storage genetic disorders

The Wolbachia strain wAu provides highly efficient virus transmission blocking in Aedes aegypti

Introduced transinfections of the inherited bacteria Wolbachia can inhibit transmission of viruses by Aedes mosquitoes, and in Ae. aegypti are now being deployed for dengue control in a number of countries. Only three Wolbachia strains from the large number that exist in nature have to date been introduced and characterized in this species. Here novel Ae. aegypti transinfections were generated using the wAlbA and wAu strains. In its native Ae. albopictus, wAlbA is maintained at lower density than the co-infecting wAlbB, but following transfer to Ae. aegypti the relative strain density was reversed, illustrating the strain-specific nature of Wolbachia-host co-adaptation in determining density. The wAu strain also reached high densities in Ae. aegypti, and provided highly efficient transmission blocking of dengue and Zika viruses. Both wAu and wAlbA were less susceptible than wMel to density reduction/incomplete maternal transmission resulting from elevated larval rearing temperatures. Although wAu does not induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), it was stably combined with a CI-inducing strain as a superinfection, and this would facilitate its spread into wild populations. Wolbachia wAu provides a very promising new option for arbovirus control, particularly for deployment in hot tropical climates

Experimental measurement of breath exit velocity and expirated bloodstain patterns produced under different exhalation mechanisms

In an attempt to obtain a deeper understanding of the factors which determine the characteristics of expirated bloodstain patterns, the mechanism of formation of airborne droplets was studied. Hot wire anemometry measured air velocity, 25 mm from the lips, for 31 individuals spitting, coughing and blowing. Expirated stains were produced by the same mechanisms performed by one individual with different volumes of a synthetic blood substitute in their mouth. The atomization of the liquid at the lips was captured with high-speed video, and the resulting stain patterns were captured on paper targets. Peak air velocities varied for blowing (6 to 64 m/s), spitting (1 to 64 m/s) and coughing (1 to 47 m/s), with mean values of 12 m/s (blowing), 7 m/s (spitting) and 4 m/s (coughing). There was a large (55–65%) variation between individuals in air velocity produced, as well as variation between trials for a single individual (25–35%). Spitting and blowing involved similar lip shapes. Blowing had a longer duration of airflow, though it is not the duration but the peak velocity at the beginning of the air motion which appears to control the atomization of blood in the mouth and thus stain formation. Spitting could project quantities of drops at least 1600 mm. Coughing had a shorter range of near 500 mm, with a few droplets travelling further. All mechanisms could spread drops over an angle >45°. Spitting was the most effective for projecting drops of blood from the mouth, due to its combination of chest motion and mouth shape producing strong air velocities. No unique method was found of inferring the physical action (spitting, coughing or blowing) from characteristics of the pattern, except possibly distance travelled. Diameter range in expirated bloodstains varied from very small (<1 mm) in a dense formation to several millimetres. No unique method was found of discriminating expirated patterns from gunshot or impact patterns on stain shape alone. Only 20% of the expirated patterns produced in this study contained identifiable bubble rings or beaded stains

Rheometry based on free surface velocity

This paper explores the possibility of identifying the rheology of a fluid by monitoring how the free surface velocity field is affected by a perturbation in the flow. The dam-break problem is considered which results from the release of a gate initially separating two fluid pools of different depth. The flow velocity is measured by seeding the free surface with buoyant particles and using Particle Tracking Velocimetry. In parallel, a mathematical model based on the lubrication approximation for fluids with a power-law rheology is developed. The model is validated against a similarity solution which is obtained for the spreading of a gravity current under its own weight and neglecting surface tension. Minimizing the difference between the free surface velocity fields obtained numerically and measured experimentally enables the identification of rheological parameters. The methodology is tested on ideal and noisy synthetic data sets and experimental data obtained with aqueous glycerol

Evaluation of a Desktop 3D Printed Rigid Refractive-Indexed-Matched Flow Phantom for PIV Measurements on Cerebral Aneurysms

Purpose Fabrication of a suitable flow model or phantom is critical to the study of biomedical fluid dynamics using optical flow visualization and measurement methods. The main difficulties arise from the optical properties of the model material, accuracy of the geometry and ease of fabrication. Methods Conventionally an investment casting method has been used, but recently advancements in additive manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing have allowed the flow model to be printed directly with minimal post-processing steps. This study presents results of an investigation into the feasibility of fabrication of such models suitable for particle image velocimetry (PIV) using a common 3D printing Stereolithography process and photopolymer resin. Results An idealised geometry of a cerebral aneurysm was printed to demonstrate its applicability for PIV experimentation. The material was shown to have a refractive index of 1.51, which can be refractive matched with a mixture of de-ionised water with ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN). The images were of a quality that after applying common PIV pre-processing techniques and a PIV cross-correlation algorithm, the results produced were consistent within the aneurysm when compared to previous studies. Conclusions This study presents an alternative low-cost option for 3D printing of a flow phantom suitable for flow visualization simulations. The use of 3D printed flow phantoms reduces the complexity, time and effort required compared to conventional investment casting methods by removing the necessity of a multi-part process required with investment casting techniques

Biophysical Investigation of the Mode of Inhibition of Tetramic Acids, the Allosteric Inhibitors of Undecaprenyl Pyrophosphate Synthase

Undecaprenyl pyrophosphate synthase (UPPS) catalyzes the consecutive condensation of eight molecules of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) with farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) to generate the C(55) undecaprenyl pyrophosphate (UPP). It has been demonstrated that tetramic acids (TAs) are selective and potent inhibitors of UPPS, but the mode of inhibition was unclear. In this work, we used a fluorescent FPP probe to study possible TA binding at the FPP binding site. A photosensitive TA analogue was designed and synthesized for the study of the site of interaction of TA with UPPS using photo-cross-linking and mass spectrometry. The interaction of substrates with UPPS and with the UPPS.TA complex was investigated by protein fluorescence spectroscopy. Our results suggested that tetramic acid binds to UPPS at an allosteric site adjacent to the FPP binding site. TA binds to free UPPS enzyme but not to substrate-bound UPPS. Unlike Escherichia coli UPPS which follows an ordered substrate binding mechanism, Streptococcus pneumoniae UPPS appears to follow a random-sequential substrate binding mechanism. Only one substrate, FPP or IPP, is able to bind to the UPPS.TA complex, but the quaternary complex, UPPS.TA.FPP.IPP, cannot be formed. We propose that binding of TA to UPPS significantly alters the conformation of UPPS needed for proper substrate binding. As the result, substrate turnover is prevented, leading to the inhibition of UPPS catalytic activity. These probe compounds and biophysical assays also allowed us to quickly study the mode of inhibition of other UPPS inhibitors identified from a high-throughput screening and inhibitors produced from a medicinal chemistry program

Public Benefits of Undeveloped Lands on Urban Outskirts: Non-Market Valuation Studies and their Role in Land Use Plans

Over the past three decades, the economics profession has developed methods for estimating the public benefits of green spaces, providing an opportunity to incorporate such information into land-use planning. While federal regulations routinely require such estimates for major regulations, the extent to which they are used in local land use plans is not clear. This paper reviews the literature on public values for lands on urban outskirts, not just to survey their methods or empirical findings, but to evaluate the role they have played--or have the potential to play-- in actual land use plans. Based on interviews with authors and representatives of funding agencies and local land trusts, it appears that academic work has had a mixed reception in the policy world. Reasons for this include a lack of interest in making academic work accessible to policy makers, emphasizing revealed preference methods which are inconsistent with policy priorities related to nonuse values, and emphasis on benefit-cost analyses. Nevertheless, there are examples of success stories that illustrate how such information can play a vital role in the design of conservation policies. Working Paper 07-2

Quantum-Classical Transition of the Escape Rate of a Uniaxial Spin System in an Arbitrarily Directed Field

The escape rate \Gamma of the large-spin model described by the Hamiltonian H = -DS_z^2 - H_zS_z - H_xS_x is investigated with the help of the mapping onto a particle moving in a double-well potential U(x). The transition-state method yields $\Gamma$ in the moderate-damping case as a Boltzmann average of the quantum transition probabilities. We have shown that the transition from the classical to quantum regimes with lowering temperature is of the first order (d\Gamma/dT discontinuous at the transition temperature T_0) for h_x below the phase boundary line h_x=h_{xc}(h_z), where h_{x,z}\equiv H_{x,z}/(2SD), and of the second order above this line. In the unbiased case (H_z=0) the result is h_{xc}(0)=1/4, i.e., one fourth of the metastability boundary h_{xm}=1, at which the barrier disappears. In the strongly biased limit \delta\equiv 1-h_z << 1, one has h_{xc} \cong (2/3)^{3/4}(\sqrt{3}-\sqrt{2})\delta^{3/2}\cong 0.2345 \delta^{3/2}, which is about one half of the boundary value h_{xm} \cong (2\delta/3)^{3/2} \cong 0.5443 \delta^{3/2}.The latter case is relevant for experiments on small magnetic particles, where the barrier should be lowered to achieve measurable quantum escape rates.Comment: 17 PR pages, 16 figures; published versio

Interface localisation-delocalisation transition in a symmetric polymer blend: a finite-size scaling Monte Carlo study

Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations we study the phase diagram of a symmetric binary (AB) polymer blend confined into a thin film as a function of the film thickness D. The monomer-wall interactions are short ranged and antisymmetric, i.e, the left wall attracts the A-component of the mixture with the same strength as the right wall the B-component, and give rise to a first order wetting transition in a semi-infinite geometry. The phase diagram and the crossover between different critical behaviors is explored. For large film thicknesses we find a first order interface localisation/delocalisation transition and the phase diagram comprises two critical points, which are the finite film width analogies of the prewetting critical point. Using finite size scaling techniques we locate these critical points and present evidence of 2D Ising critical behavior. When we reduce the film width the two critical points approach the symmetry axis $\phi=1/2$ of the phase diagram and for $D \approx 2 R_g$ we encounter a tricritical point. For even smaller film thickness the interface localisation/delocalisation transition is second order and we find a single critical point at $\phi=1/2$. Measuring the probability distribution of the interface position we determine the effective interaction between the wall and the interface. This effective interface potential depends on the lateral system size even away from the critical points. Its system size dependence stems from the large but finite correlation length of capillary waves. This finding gives direct evidence for a renormalization of the interface potential by capillary waves in the framework of a microscopic model.Comment: Phys.Rev.