Measuring soil moisture with spaceborne synthetic aperture radar data

This report describes the methodology and preliminary results obtained within the NEE6881S Innovation Flexible Fund project funded by the British Geological Survey (BGS) aimed at assessing the capabilities of active radar satellite imagery in deriving soil moisture values. The first part of the report introduces the project in the context of the most recent methodologies used to assess soil moisture with a particular focus on spaceborne technologies. The second part details the datasets and workflow adopted for the two case studies chosen in this work: Chobham Common and Hollin Hill, both in the UK. Around 1.7Tb of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery from Senintel-1 satellite have been processed to detect changes of the hydrological conditions at the two sites for the 2015-2018 period. The backscattering coefficient retrieved from Sentinel-1 images has then been compared with ground truth data on the Volumetric Water Content (VWC) and analysed against the ZOODRM recharge model. The main findings are that: the SAR signal has been able to penetrate down to a maximum depth of 15 cm in the terrain (i), the best correlation with the VWC changes is observed with the vertical transmit – vertical receive polarization of the SAR antenna (ii) and for every unit change in the backscatter signal, VWC varies by about 25% to 33% at Chobham Common and ~20% to ~50% at Hollin Hill which translate into a sensitivity of 0.04 dB/[vol.%] to 0.03 dB/[vol.%] and 0.05 dB/[vol.%] to 0.02 dB/[vol.%], respectively. The Discussion and Conclusions detail the significance and benefits of these findings, current limitations in our methodology and how it can be improved

Toxicity of aflatoxin B1 towards the vitamin D receptor (VDR)

This research describes an unexpected toxicity of the aflatoxin B1 towards the vitamin D receptors. Rickets is a childhood disease, and calcium deficiency is the aetiological cause in Africa, being primarily associated with nutritional problems; in this research the contribution of aflatoxin B1 exposure during the early months of life is an interesting factor to deepen in order to prevent liver damages or the development of rickets. The results show that the expression of vitamin D receptor in osteosarcoma cell line SAOS-2 is significantly down-modulated by exposure to aflatoxin B1. This seems to suggest that Aflatoxin B1, toxic towards the vitamin D receptor, interferes with the actions of the vitamin D on calcium binding gene expression in the kidney and intestine. Experimental data indicate a 58% and 86% decrease if the cells are exposed to 5 ng/mL and 50 ng/mL of aflatoxin B1, respectively. These results seem to indicate that natural occurrence of the aflatoxin B1 and allelic variant of vitamin D receptor on (F allele) increase the risk of developing rickets of African children

Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site : ground motion survey report

The report describes the main findings associated with the baseline monitoring of ground motion for the Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site (GGERFS) as part of the UK Geoenergy Observatories (UKGEOS) project. The analysis is based on the interpretation of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data acquired for the period 1995-2017. Overall, the GGERFS sites are stable, small areas near the 2014 Commonwealth Games athletes’ village show a minor subsidence pattern, with rates of ~5mm/yr, observed for the 2015-2017 period between sites GGERFS04 (site currently ‘on hold’) and GGERFS10. This motion is interpreted to relate to settling of relatively thick superficial and anthropogenic deposits, which have recently been built upon for the development associated with the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Overall Glasgow and the surrounding area appears relatively stable for the three decades for which InSAR data has been processed. There are notable small areas of ground motion, which appear to relate to both natural (volume change of peat deposits, compressible ground) and anthropogenic (settling of made ground and landfill) factors

Connecting Neurons to a Mobile Robot: An In Vitro Bidirectional Neural Interface

One of the key properties of intelligent behaviors is the capability to learn and adapt to changing environmental conditions. These features are the result of the continuous and intense interaction of the brain with the external world, mediated by the body. For this reason “embodiment” represents an innovative and very suitable experimental paradigm when studying the neural processes underlying learning new behaviors and adapting to unpredicted situations. To this purpose, we developed a novel bidirectional neural interface. We interconnected in vitro neurons, extracted from rat embryos and plated on a microelectrode array (MEA), to external devices, thus allowing real-time closed-loop interaction. The novelty of this experimental approach entails the necessity to explore different computational schemes and experimental hypotheses. In this paper, we present an open, scalable architecture, which allows fast prototyping of different modules and where coding and decoding schemes and different experimental configurations can be tested. This hybrid system can be used for studying the computational properties and information coding in biological neuronal networks with far-reaching implications for the future development of advanced neuroprostheses

Installation of Passive Radar Corner Reflectors at the SENSE study site; Hatfield Moors, Doncaster.

This report describes the installation of Radar Corner Reflectors (CRs) at the SENSE study site on Hatfield Moors near Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. It describes the need for the CRs on the study site, the specification, painting and modifications required for this site. It then describes the installation procedure and presents preliminary results in the satellite radar data

Sampling protein motion and solvent effect during ligand binding.

An exhaustive description of the molecular recognition mechanism between a ligand and its biological target is of great value because it provides the opportunity for an exogenous control of the related process. Very often this aim can be pursued using high resolution structures of the complex in combination with inexpensive computational protocols such as docking algorithms. Unfortunately, in many other cases a number of factors, like protein flexibility or solvent effects, increase the degree of complexity of ligand/protein interaction and these standard techniques are no longer sufficient to describe the binding event. We have experienced and tested these limits in the present study in which we have developed and revealed the mechanism of binding of a new series of potent inhibitors of Adenosine Deaminase. We have first performed a large number of docking calculations, which unfortunately failed to yield reliable results due to the dynamical character of the enzyme and the complex role of the solvent. Thus, we have stepped up the computational strategy using a protocol based on metadynamics. Our approach has allowed dealing with protein motion and solvation during ligand binding and finally identifying the lowest energy binding modes of the most potent compound of the series, 4-decyl-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-one

Biophysical and biochemical characterization of a liposarcoma-derived recombinant MnSOD protein acting as an anticancer agent

A recombinant MnSOD (rMnSOD) synthesized by specific cDNA clones derived from a liposarcoma cell line was shown to have the same sequence as the wild-type MnSOD expressed in the human myeloid leukaemia cell line U937, except for the presence of the leader peptide at the N-terminus. These results were fully confirmed by the molecular mass of rMnSOD as evaluated by ES/MS analysis (26662.7 Da) and the nucleotide sequence of the MnSOD cDNA. The role of the leader peptide in rMnSOD was investigated using a fluorescent and/or 68Gallium-labelled synthetic peptide. The labelled peptide permeated MCF-7 cells and uptake could be inhibited in the presence of an excess of oestrogen. In vivo it was taken up by the tumour, suggesting that the molecule can be used for both therapy and diagnosis. The in vitro and in vivo pharmacology tests confirmed that rMnSOD is only oncotoxic for tumour cells expressing oestrogen receptors. Pharmacokinetic studies in animals performed with 125I- and 131I-labelled proteins confirmed that, when administered systemically, rMnSOD selectively reached the tumour, where its presence was unambiguously demonstrated by scintigraphic and PET scans. PCR analysis revealed that Bax gene expression was increased and the Bcl2 gene was down regulated in MCF7 cells treated with rMnSOD, which suggests that the protein induces a pro-apoptotic mechanism

Arctium lappa contributes to the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus by regulating glucose homeostasis and improving oxidative stress: A critical review of in vitro and in vivo animal-based studies

Diabetes is a metabolic disease highly widespread worldwide, and the most common form is the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A large number of synthetic drugs are currently available for the treatment of diabetes; however, they present various side effects and, for this reason, people are increasingly inclined to search natural alternative treatments. Among these, Arctium lappa (A. lappa) has interesting anti-diabetic activities, exerted by improving glucose homeostasis and reducing insulin-resistance. In addition, A. lappa exerts a marked antioxidant activity, an effect known to play a pivotal role in the treatment of T2DM. The purpose of this review is to analyse scientific evidence in order to evaluate the role of A. lappa and its bioactive compounds in management of T2DM. The literature search performed provided only in vitro and animal-based studies. No clinical studies have been conducted in order to investigate the effect of A. lappa on T2DM patients. However, available literature provides evidence for further clinical trials in order to confirm these claimed activities on humans

Local scale investigation and advanced modelling of the geo-hazards affecting the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Case Study Site : version 1.0

PROTHEGO (PROTection of European Cultural HEritage from GeO-hazards) is a collaborative research project funded in the framework of the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change (JPICH) – Heritage Plus in 2015–2018. The aim of the PROTHEGO project is to develop and validate an innovative multi-scale methodology for the detection and monitoring of European Cultural Heritages exposed to natural hazards. Work Package 5 (WP5) focussed on the local-scale assessing, monitoring and modelling of geohazards affecting the Derwent Valley, one of the World Heritage List (WHL) site selected during WP4 (D04.02) The analysis conducted used in-situ observation, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) results and flooding simulations based on different climate change scenarios in order to validate the impact of the natural hazards in the Derwent Valley catchment area. The results show that two landslides, in Starkholmes and Ambergate, and flooding, mainly over the west river bank, are the main geohazards affecting the site with the possibility to experience increased geohazards in the coming decades due to changes in climate

Land subsidence susceptibility mapping for Hanoi city, Vietnam

Land subsidence is one of the main issues in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi, due to the urban growth and its associated excessive consumption of natural resources such as groundwater and increased construction. This abstract describes the assessment of land subsidence in Central Hanoi by using InSAR, engineering geological characteristics obtained from boreholes and a weight of evidence statistical method. The result is presented as a land subsidence susceptibility map