Seasonal changes in brain serotonin transporter binding in short 5-HTTLPR-allele carriers but not in long-allele homozygotes

Several findings suggest seasonal variations in the serotonin (5-HT) system. We sought evidence for seasonal variation in the serotonin transporter (5-HTT). We found that length of daylight time in minutes correlates negatively with 5-HTT binding in the putamen and the caudate, with a similar tendency in the thalamus, but no such association in the midbrain. In the putamen, an anatomical region with a dense serotonin innervation that is implicated in processing of aversive stimuli, we found a significant gene*daylight effect with a negative correlation between the 5-HTT binding and daylight time in carriers of the short 5-HTTLPR allele, but not in carriers of the long allele. The neurobiological endophenotype identified here directly links activation studies, showing responses on the neural circuit level, with dynamic changes in transporter expression measured in vivo

Multilayer Modelling of Lubricated Contacts: A New Approach Based on a Potential Field Description

A first integral approach, derived in an analogous fashion to Maxwell’s use of potential fields, is employed to investigate the flow characteristics, with a view to minimising friction, of shear-driven fluid motion between rigid surfaces in parallel alignment as a model for a lubricated joint, whether naturally occurring or engineered replacement. For a viscous bilayer arrangement comprised of immiscible liquids, it is shown how the flow and the shear stress along the separating interface is influenced by the mean thickness of the layers and the ratio of their respective viscosities. Considered in addition, is how the method can be extended for application to the more challenging problem of when one, or both, of the layers is a viscoelastic material

Indoor Air Quality

This is a report from the Air Quality Expert Group to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Scottish Government; Welsh Government; and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, on indoor air quality in the UK. The information contained within this report represents a review of the understanding and evidence available at the time of writing