Urban runoff quality in the river Sowe catchment

This research identifies the contaminants found during a series of storm events impacting on the River Sherbourne culvert, and discusses the relationship between them and the increased flow measured The methodology was divided into 3 Phases; Phase 1 examined all of the watercourses in the River Sowe catchment, and identified the culverted streams and drainage system giving an indication of the presence of pollutant sources. Continuous monitors were deployed within the four identified drainage systems to pinpoint intermittent and illegal contaminated discharges, and these discharges were subsequently redirected to the foul sewer or stopped. Phase 2 examined the quality of the River Sherbourne culvert upstream and downstream of the city centre, and demonstrated (using continuous monitors and automated sampling), that six combined sewer overflows discharging to the watercourse upstream of the culvert were operating unsatisfactorily. The dissolved oxygen levels were significantly reduced during rainfall events (with a loss of diurnal variation), and total ammonium levels exceeded current water quality standards. The results were used to instigate a remediation scheme to replace the overflows with additional foul sewerage capacity, and a single high-level storm relief. Phase 3 examined the impact of urban runoff during rainfall events after the improvements made following Phases 1 and 2. The results suggest a marked improvement in the water quality, with little impact from organic pollutants. Dissolved oxygen concentrations remained high during many of the post-remedial rainfall events, and ammonia levels remained largely insignificant. The results indicated a fall in pH levels during the rainfall events and increases in all of the heavy metals analysed, though not beyond current water quality guidelines. The efficiency of using continuous monitoring in Coventry was assessed and likely sources of the contaminants in urban runoff were considered. The statistics of compliance with percentile standards do not allow for short-term pollution or storm events, which may kill all aquatic life whilst not breaching water quality standards. Using continuous monitors to identify intermittent and illegal discharges in underground drainage systems was an efficient and cost-effective method of reducing the impact of urban runoff in a failing watercourse. The methodology can be applied to other urban areas to identify unidentified illegal and intermittent point sources.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The interferon-stimulated gene IFITM3 restricts infection and pathogenesis of arthritogenic and encephalitic alphaviruses

Host cells respond to viral infections by producing type I interferon (IFN), which induces the expression of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Although ISGs mediate a protective state against many pathogens, the antiviral functions of the majority of these genes have not been identified. IFITM3 is a small transmembrane ISG that restricts a broad range of viruses, including orthomyxoviruses, flaviviruses, filoviruses, and coronaviruses. Here, we show that alphavirus infection is increased in Ifitm3(−/−) and Ifitm locus deletion (Ifitm-del) fibroblasts and, reciprocally, reduced in fibroblasts transcomplemented with Ifitm3. Mechanistic studies showed that Ifitm3 did not affect viral binding or entry but inhibited pH-dependent fusion. In a murine model of chikungunya virus arthritis, Ifitm3(−/−) mice sustained greater joint swelling in the ipsilateral ankle at days 3 and 7 postinfection, and this correlated with higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines and viral burden. Flow cytometric analysis suggested that Ifitm3(−/−) macrophages from the spleen were infected at greater levels than observed in wild-type (WT) mice, results that were supported by experiments with Ifitm3(−/−) bone marrow-derived macrophages. Ifitm3(−/−) mice also were more susceptible than WT mice to lethal alphavirus infection with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, and this was associated with greater viral burden in multiple organs. Collectively, our data define an antiviral role for Ifitm3 in restricting infection of multiple alphaviruses. IMPORTANCE The interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) inhibits infection of multiple families of viruses in cell culture. Compared to other viruses, much less is known about the antiviral effect of IFITM3 on alphaviruses. In this study, we characterized the antiviral activity of mouse Ifitm3 against arthritogenic and encephalitic alphaviruses using cells and animals with a targeted gene deletion of Ifitm3 as well as deficient cells transcomplemented with Ifitm3. Based on extensive virological analysis, we demonstrate greater levels of alphavirus infection and disease pathogenesis when Ifitm3 expression is absent. Our data establish an inhibitory role for Ifitm3 in controlling infection of alphaviruses

Formation of Cosmic Dust Bunnies

Planetary formation is an efficient process now thought to take place on a relatively short astronomical time scale. Recent observations have shown that the dust surrounding a protostar emits more efficiently at longer wavelengths as the protoplanetary disk evolves, suggesting that the dust particles are coagulating into fluffy aggregates, "much as dust bunnies form under a bed." One poorly understood problem in this coagulation process is the manner in which micron-sized, charged grains form the fractal aggregate structures now thought to be the precursors of protoplanetary disk evolution. This study examines the characteristics of such fractal aggregates formed by the collision of spherical monomers and aggregates where the charge is distributed over the aggregate structure. The aggregates are free to rotate due to collisions and dipole-dipole electrostatic interactions. Comparisons are made for different precursor size distributions and like-charged, oppositelycharged, and neutral grains

Apache Calcite: A Foundational Framework for Optimized Query Processing Over Heterogeneous Data Sources

Apache Calcite is a foundational software framework that provides query processing, optimization, and query language support to many popular open-source data processing systems such as Apache Hive, Apache Storm, Apache Flink, Druid, and MapD. Calcite's architecture consists of a modular and extensible query optimizer with hundreds of built-in optimization rules, a query processor capable of processing a variety of query languages, an adapter architecture designed for extensibility, and support for heterogeneous data models and stores (relational, semi-structured, streaming, and geospatial). This flexible, embeddable, and extensible architecture is what makes Calcite an attractive choice for adoption in big-data frameworks. It is an active project that continues to introduce support for the new types of data sources, query languages, and approaches to query processing and optimization.Comment: SIGMOD'1

Statnamic testing of model piles in a clay calibration chamber

The rate of load application during a Statnamic pile test lies between that for static and dynamic pile tests. Current analysis methods offer excellent correlation between Statnamic and static test results for coarse-grained soils. However, over-prediction of pile load capacity can be obtained for fine-grained soils. It is very difficult to explore this anomaly using full scale field tests because of natural soil variability, so a study has been carried out using a model pile installed in similar clay beds prepared in a large triaxial calibration chamber. The instrumented model pile has been loaded at varying rates by a computer controlled servo-hydraulic actuator. The tests have simulated static loading, constant rate of penetration at various rates of penetration, and Statnamic loading. Results suggest that components of the rate effect associated with increased pile penetration rates may be described by a power law relationship. </jats:p