Measurements of the height of fracturing and height of depressurisation above a longwall panel

This paper presents the findings of a program of work to determine the height of mining induced fracturing and the height of groundwater depressurisation above a longwall panel. The program of work utilised two fully cored boreholes drilled from surface at Tahmoor Colliery, located southwest of Sydney in the Southern Coalfields in New South Wales. The boreholes were drilled adjacent to and over a subcritical longwall panel, one before and one after extraction of the longwall panel. Field measurements of the geotechnical and hydrological ground conditions in the pre and post mining boreholes were compared. Three geomechanical zones were determined in the overburden above the extracted longwall panel which correlate with ground water and hydraulic conductivity measurements. The results show that the determined height of caving and the start of a reduced pore pressure profile (from hydrostatic) coincide at the same height above the mining horizon. The reduction in pore pressure from hydrostatic to zero pore pressure is a gradual transition, meaning the height of depressurisation (zero pore pressure) and height of caving do not necessarily coincide. This work program provides a comprehensive dataset of changes in pore pressure, conductivity and caving for the horizons within the overburden above a longwall panel at Tahmoor Colliery. The results from this program of work reinforce the results from a previous work program at Tahmoor Colliery detailing the height of caving and height of depressurisation. The outcomes of this program are useful in providing an understanding for groundwater modelling above extracted longwall panels

Procesos moleculares implicados en la proliferación de astrocitos de rata en cultivo. Efectos de la glucosa, del péptido semejante al Glucagón-2 y de la insulina

El GLP-2 es un péptido derivado del diferente procesamiento postraduccional del proglucagón que tiene lugar en intestino y cerebro, en donde ejerce sus efectos biológicos. En el intestino actúa como un factor trófico. En el hipotálamo parece mostrar un efecto anorexigénico y en los astrocitos en cultivo favorece la proliferación.La insulina se sintetiza en las células β-pancreáticas y posiblemente también en sistema nervioso central. Es la hormona anabólica por excelencia en los tejidos periféricos,siendo mucho menos conocida sus funciones en el cerebro. Tanto la insulina como el GLP-2actúan a través de sus receptores presentes en ciertas regiones del cerebro.Hoy se asume que los astrocitos desempeñan un papel fundamental en las distintas funciones del sistema nervioso central, incluyendo la captura y metabolismo de la glucosa en el cerebro.La hipótesis de este trabajo es que la glucosa actúa como un regulador fundamental de la proliferación de los astrocitos y por tanto influir en alguna de las diversas vías de señalización implicadas en este proceso..

A Novel Methodology for the Scalability Analysis of ICT Systems for Smart Grids Based on SGAM: The InteGrid Project Approach

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures are at the heart of emerging Smart Grid scenarios with high penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER). The scalability of such ICT infrastructures is a key factor for the large scale deployment of the aforementioned Smart Grid solutions, which could not be ensured by small-scale pilot demonstrations. This paper presents a novel methodology that has been developed in the scope of the H2020 project InteGrid, which enables the scalability analysis of ICT infrastructures for Smart Grids. It is based on the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) framework, which enables a standardized and replicable approach. This approach consists of two consecutive steps: a qualitative analysis that aims at identifying potential bottlenecks in an ICT infrastructure; and a quantitative analysis of the identified critical links under stress conditions by means of simulations with the aim of evaluating their operational limits. In this work the proposed methodology is applied to a cluster of solutions demonstrated in the InteGrid Slovenian pilot. This pilot consists of a Large Customer Commercial Virtual Power Plant (VPP) that provides flexibility in medium voltage for tertiary reserve and a Traffic Light System (TLS) to validate such flexibility offers. This approach creates an indirect Transmission System Operator (TSO)—Distribution System Operator (DSO) coordination scheme

Prevalence of Yersinia Species in the Ileum of Crohn's Disease Patients and Controls

Yersinia are common contaminants of food products, but their prevalence in the human gut is poorly documented. Yersinia have been implicated in Crohn's Disease (CD, an inflammatory bowel disease) however their role in CD is controversial. We performed highly sensitive PCR assays of specific sequences for the gyrB gene of Y. aldovae, Y. bercovieri, Y. enterocolitica, Y. intermedia, Y. mollaretii and the inv gene of Y. pseudotuberculosis. We analyzed a total of 470 ileal samples taken from 338 participants (262 CD patients and 76 controls) belonging to three independent cohorts. All patients and controls were phenotyped and genotyped for the main CD susceptibility variants: NOD2, ATG16L1, and IRGM. Yersinia were found in 7.7% of ileal samples (respectively 7.9 and 7.6% in controls and CD patients) corresponding to 10% of participants (respectively 11.8 and 9.5% in controls and CD patients). Y. enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. intermedia were the most frequently identified species. The bacteria were more frequent in resected specimens, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. Yersinia were no more likely to be detected in CD tissues than tissues from inflammatory and non-inflammatory controls. CD patients treated with immunosuppressants were less likely to be Yersinia carriers. In conclusion, this work shows that Yersinia species are frequently found at low levels in the human ileum in health and disease. The role of Yersinia species in this ecosystem should now be explored

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection: A case control study

Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods: A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results: None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR- 145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion: No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection

Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Chronic Kidney Disease in HIV Infection Using Prospective Cohort Data from the D:A:D Study

Ristola M. on työryhmien DAD Study Grp ; Royal Free Hosp Clin Cohort ; INSIGHT Study Grp ; SMART Study Grp ; ESPRIT Study Grp jäsen.Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue for HIV-positive individuals, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Development and implementation of a risk score model for CKD would allow comparison of the risks and benefits of adding potentially nephrotoxic antiretrovirals to a treatment regimen and would identify those at greatest risk of CKD. The aims of this study were to develop a simple, externally validated, and widely applicable long-term risk score model for CKD in HIV-positive individuals that can guide decision making in clinical practice. Methods and Findings A total of 17,954 HIV-positive individuals from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) study with >= 3 estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values after 1 January 2004 were included. Baseline was defined as the first eGFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 after 1 January 2004; individuals with exposure to tenofovir, atazanavir, atazanavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir, other boosted protease inhibitors before baseline were excluded. CKD was defined as confirmed (>3 mo apart) eGFR In the D:A:D study, 641 individuals developed CKD during 103,185 person-years of follow-up (PYFU; incidence 6.2/1,000 PYFU, 95% CI 5.7-6.7; median follow-up 6.1 y, range 0.3-9.1 y). Older age, intravenous drug use, hepatitis C coinfection, lower baseline eGFR, female gender, lower CD4 count nadir, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) predicted CKD. The adjusted incidence rate ratios of these nine categorical variables were scaled and summed to create the risk score. The median risk score at baseline was -2 (interquartile range -4 to 2). There was a 1: 393 chance of developing CKD in the next 5 y in the low risk group (risk score = 5, 505 events), respectively. Number needed to harm (NNTH) at 5 y when starting unboosted atazanavir or lopinavir/ritonavir among those with a low risk score was 1,702 (95% CI 1,166-3,367); NNTH was 202 (95% CI 159-278) and 21 (95% CI 19-23), respectively, for those with a medium and high risk score. NNTH was 739 (95% CI 506-1462), 88 (95% CI 69-121), and 9 (95% CI 8-10) for those with a low, medium, and high risk score, respectively, starting tenofovir, atazanavir/ritonavir, or another boosted protease inhibitor. The Royal Free Hospital Clinic Cohort included 2,548 individuals, of whom 94 individuals developed CKD (3.7%) during 18,376 PYFU (median follow-up 7.4 y, range 0.3-12.7 y). Of 2,013 individuals included from the SMART/ESPRIT control arms, 32 individuals developed CKD (1.6%) during 8,452 PYFU (median follow-up 4.1 y, range 0.6-8.1 y). External validation showed that the risk score predicted well in these cohorts. Limitations of this study included limited data on race and no information on proteinuria. Conclusions Both traditional and HIV-related risk factors were predictive of CKD. These factors were used to develop a risk score for CKD in HIV infection, externally validated, that has direct clinical relevance for patients and clinicians to weigh the benefits of certain antiretrovirals against the risk of CKD and to identify those at greatest risk of CKD.Peer reviewe

Physical and adhesive properties of some materials made by \u27Click\u27 chemistry

The aim of this work is to examine the physical and adhesive properties of a number of crosslinked polymers made by e click e chemistry, a technique, that has been explored thus far only in the context of drug discovery. The polymers were synthesised between copper and brass plates. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were used to measure the glass transition temperature (Tg) of these materials. The polymers were found to have unusually high Tg values, sometimes up to 60oC higher than the curing temperature, depending on the cure time. The adhesives properties of these materials on brass substrates have also been examined using a fracture mechanics test, the double cantilever beam test (DCB). The adhesion was found to be very similar (sometimes higher) than that of some commercial epoxy systems. Finally, the copper-polymer interface was characterized using the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique. SERS showed the presence of a triazole-based compound adsorbed on copper. The adhesion strength of these & quote click & quote polymers on copper substrates is believed to be function of the formation of the triazole-copper complex

KINtop, n° 3, 1993 (Stroemfeld Buchversand, Holzhausenstrasse 4, D-60322 Frankfurt am Main, Allemagne)

Le Baut Geneviève. KINtop, n° 3, 1993 (Stroemfeld Buchversand, Holzhausenstrasse 4, D-60322 Frankfurt am Main, Allemagne). In: 1895, revue d'histoire du cinéma, n°19, 1995. p. 101

CinéMémoire 93. Notes sur quelques films

Le Baut Geneviève. CinéMémoire 93. Notes sur quelques films. In: 1895, revue d'histoire du cinéma, n°16, 1994. pp. 145-151