Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore workrelated accidents and illnesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (see Box 1 for details on data sources and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, regardless of whether or not they resulted in an absence from work, as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016). This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector over the period 2001–2014

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 2: Construction Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore work-related accidents and illnesses in the construction sector (see Box 1 for details on data sources and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, regardless of whether or not they resulted in an absence from work, as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016).i This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the construction sector over the period 2001–2014

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 3: Industry Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore workrelated injuries and illnesses in the industry sector (see Box 1 for details on data sources and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, regardless of whether or not they resulted in an absence from work as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016).i This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the industry sector over the period 2001–2014. This sector consists of manufacturing, utilities and mining

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 5: Transport Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore work-related accidents and illnesses in the transport and storage sector over the period 2001 to 2014 (see Box 1 for details on data source and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, up to those requiring lengthy work absences, and regardless of whether or not there was no absence or only a short absence from work, as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016). This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the transport and storage sector over the period 2001–2014

Estimates of the impacts of invasive alien plants on water flows in South Africa

The adverse impacts of alien plant invasions on water flows have been a prime motivation for South Africa’s Working for Water Programme. The approach used in this study builds on a previous national assessment in 1998 by incorporating factors that limit plant water-use, information from recent research and improved flow reduction models. The total reduction in flows is estimated to be 1 444 million m3·yr−1 or 2.9% of the naturalised mean annual runoff (MAR), less than half of the 3 300 million m3·yr−1 estimated in 1998. Two main factors account for this difference: (a) a decrease in the estimated unit-area flow reduction to 970 m3·ha−1·yr−1 compared with 1 900 m3·ha−1·yr−1 estimated in 1998, largely due to the new model being based on more representative reduction factors; and (b) the updated estimate of the condensed invaded area of 1.50 million ha (previously 1.76 million ha), although the taxa mapped for this assessment only accounted for 1.00 million of the 1.76 million ha reported in 1998. Reductions due to invasions in Lesotho are estimated to be about 161 million m3·yr−1 and those in Swaziland about 193 million m3·yr−1. The taxon with the greatest estimated impact was wattles (Acacia mearnsii, A. dealbata, A. decurrens) with 34.0% of the total reductions, followed by Pinus species (19.3%) and Eucalyptus species (15.8%). The revised estimate is considered on the low side largely because the extent and impacts of riparian invasions have been underestimated. If the current estimates that 4–6% of Acacia mearnsii, Eucalyptus, Populus and Salix invasions are riparian, are adjusted to a more representative 20%, 50%, 80% and 80%, respectively, the total reductions increase by nearly 70% to ~2 444 million m3·yr−1. Producing these estimates involved a number of assumptions and extrapolations, and further research is needed to provide more robust estimates of the impacts.Keywords: plant water-use, flow reduction, mean annual runoff, riparian invasions, Working for Water Programm

Self-Consistency Requirements of the Renormalization Group for Setting the Renormalization Scale

In conventional treatments, predictions from fixed-order perturbative QCD calculations cannot be fixed with certainty due to ambiguities in the choice of the renormalization scale as well as the renormalization scheme. In this paper we present a general discussion of the constraints of the renormalization group (RG) invariance on the choice of the renormalization scale. We adopt the RG based equations, which incorporate the scheme parameters, for a general exposition of RG invariance, since they simultaneously express the invariance of physical observables under both the variation of the renormalization scale and the renormalization scheme parameters. We then discuss the self-consistency requirements of the RG, such as reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity, which must be satisfied by the scale-setting method. The Principle of Minimal Sensitivity (PMS) requires the slope of the approximant of an observable to vanish at the renormalization point. This criterion provides a scheme-independent estimation, but it violates the symmetry and transitivity properties of the RG and does not reproduce the Gell-Mann-Low scale for QED observables. The Principle of Maximum Conformality (PMC) satisfies all of the deductions of the RG invariance - reflectivity, symmetry, and transitivity. Using the PMC, all non-conformal $\{\beta^{\cal R}_i\}$-terms (${\cal R}$ stands for an arbitrary renormalization scheme) in the perturbative expansion series are summed into the running coupling, and one obtains a unique, scale-fixed, scheme-independent prediction at any finite order. The PMC scales and the resulting finite-order PMC predictions are both to high accuracy independent of the choice of initial renormalization scale, consistent with RG invariance. [...More in the text...]Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. References updated. To be published in Phys.Rev.

Complex mechanical loading and inflammation in intervertebral disc degeneration

Introduction Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is the cause of around half of all low back pain cases in young adults, however the initiating and risk factors are poorly understood, limiting development of personalized therapies. [1] Although the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mechanical loading has been investigated within the IVD, [2] it is unknown how IVD response to complex mechanical loading is affected by the presence of cytokines. Thus, we aimed to investigate the combined effects of dynamic compression and torsion with catabolic cytokine interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and inhibitory cytokine interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), on bovine IVDs using ex vivo culture, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and finite element (FE) modeling. Methods Whole bovine IVDs obtained within 3-4 hours portmortem from a local abattoir were isolated and the IVDs cultured in a customized two degrees-of-freedom bioreactor applying diurnal dynamic compression (0.1- 0.5 MPa) and torsion (6°) under normal (HG DMEM), catabolic (10 ng/ml IL-1β) and inhibitory (10 ng/ml IL1Ra) media conditions for one week. Static compression (0.1 MPa) under the same media conditions were used as a control. Before and after culture, the IVDs were imaged using 3T MRI, which was used to create subjectspecific FE models. Downstream analyses included height measurement, qPCR, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) quantification, and cell metabolic activity. For statistical analysis (when n>3), nonparametric distribution was assumed and a Kruskal–Wallis test then Dunn’s multiple comparisons test were performed, and a P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results Following one week of culture, IVD height decreased in all conditions (Figure 1a & b), however, this disc height decreases was less pronounced within IVDs stimulated with IL-1Ra. Cellular metabolic activity in the nucleus pulposus (NP) decreased in all conditions, but the difference was only significant in IVDs stimulated with IL-1β and complex dynamic loading (Figure 1c). Similarly, the GAG content decreased in the NP of all conditions, but was not significant. Gene expression of anabolic genes, i.e. collagen type II (COL II) decreased (Figure 1e), while expression of catabolic genes, i.e. matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) increased in the NP tissue for all conditions except in control static IVDs and in IL-1Ra stimulated IVDs, respectively (Figure 1d). Introduction Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is the cause of around half of all low back pain cases in young adults, however the initiating and risk factors are poorly understood, limiting development of personalized therapies. [1] Although the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mechanical loading has been investigated within the IVD, [2] it is unknown how IVD response to complex mechanical loading is affected by the presence of cytokines. Thus, we aimed to investigate the combined effects of dynamic compression and torsion with catabolic cytokine interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and inhibitory cytokine interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), on bovine IVDs using ex vivo culture, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and finite element (FE) modeling. Methods Whole bovine IVDs obtained within 3-4 hours portmortem from a local abattoir were isolated and the IVDs cultured in a customized two degrees-of-freedom bioreactor applying diurnal dynamic compression (0.1- 0.5 MPa) and torsion (6°) under normal (HG DMEM), catabolic (10 ng/ml IL-1β) and inhibitory (10 ng/ml IL1Ra) media conditions for one week. Static compression (0.1 MPa) under the same media conditions were used as a control. Before and after culture, the IVDs were imaged using 3T MRI, which was used to create subjectspecific FE models. Downstream analyses included height measurement, qPCR, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) quantification, and cell metabolic activity. For statistical analysis (when n>3), nonparametric distribution was assumed and a Kruskal–Wallis test then Dunn’s multiple comparisons test were performed, and a P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results Following one week of culture, IVD height decreased in all conditions (Figure 1a & b), however, this disc height decreases was less pronounced within IVDs stimulated with IL-1Ra. Cellular metabolic activity in the nucleus pulposus (NP) decreased in all conditions, but the difference was only significant in IVDs stimulated with IL-1β and complex dynamic loading (Figure 1c). Similarly, the GAG content decreased in the NP of all conditions, but was not significant. Gene expression of anabolic genes, i.e. collagen type II (COL II) decreased (Figure 1e), while expression of catabolic genes, i.e. matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) increased in the NP tissue for all conditions except in control static IVDs and in IL-1Ra stimulated IVDs, respectively (Figure 1d). Introduction Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is the cause of around half of all low back pain cases in young adults, however the initiating and risk factors are poorly understood, limiting development of personalized therapies. [1] Although the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mechanical loading has been investigated within the IVD, [2] it is unknown how IVD response to complex mechanical loading is affected by the presence of cytokines. Thus, we aimed to investigate the combined effects of dynamic compression and torsion with catabolic cytokine interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and inhibitory cytokine interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), on bovine IVDs using ex vivo culture, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and finite element (FE) modeling. Methods Whole bovine IVDs obtained within 3-4 hours portmortem from a local abattoir were isolated and the IVDs cultured in a customized two degrees-of-freedom bioreactor applying diurnal dynamic compression (0.1- 0.5 MPa) and torsion (6°) under normal (HG DMEM), catabolic (10 ng/ml IL-1β) and inhibitory (10 ng/ml IL1Ra) media conditions for one week. Static compression (0.1 MPa) under the same media conditions were used as a control. Before and after culture, the IVDs were imaged using 3T MRI, which was used to create subjectspecific FE models. Downstream analyses included height measurement, qPCR, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) quantification, and cell metabolic activity. For statistical analysis (when n>3), nonparametric distribution was assumed and a Kruskal–Wallis test then Dunn’s multiple comparisons test were performed, and a P <0.05 considered statistically significant. Results Following one week of culture, IVD height decreased in all conditions (Figure 1a & b), however, this disc height decreases was less pronounced within IVDs stimulated with IL-1Ra. Cellular metabolic activity in the nucleus pulposus (NP) decreased in all conditions, but the difference was only significant in IVDs stimulated with IL-1β and complex dynamic loading (Figure 1c). Similarly, the GAG content decreased in the NP of all conditions, but was not significant. Gene expression of anabolic genes, i.e. collagen type II (COL II) decreased (Figure 1e), while expression of catabolic genes, i.e. matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) increased in the NP tissue for all conditions except in control static IVDs and in IL-1Ra stimulated IVDs, respectively (Figure 1d).Discussion We hypothesized that catabolic cytokines, i.e. IL-1β, in the microenvironment of the IVD are sufficient to negatively alter the cellular response to complex loading, leading to further downstream degeneration. However, markers of degeneration were found in all conditions, which could indicate that loading was supraphysiological and catabolic alone. This will be investigated further using subject-specific FE models developed from the MRI images. Additionally, short half-lives of cytokines could have prevented them from diffusing through the IVD effectively, thus limiting the cellular response. This will be further investigated using immunohistochemistry and ELISA. Nevertheless, the results convey that static or complex dynamic loading is sufficient to induce catabolism with or without cytokine stimulation. References 1. Baumgartner L et al., J. Int J Mol Sci. 2021; 22(2):703. 2. Walter BA et al., PLOS ONE. 2015; 10(3): e0118358.5

Comparing two approaches for parsimonious vegetation modelling in semiarid regions using satellite data

[EN] Large portions of Earth's terrestrial surface are arid or semiarid. As in these regions, the hydrological cycle and the vegetation dynamics are tightly interconnected, a coupled modelling of these two systems is needed to fully reproduce the ecosystem behaviour. In this paper, the performance of two parsimonious dynamic vegetation models, suitable for the inclusion in operational ecohydrological models and based on well-established but different approaches, is compared in a semiarid Aleppo Pine region. The first model [water use efficiency (WUE) model] links growth to transpiration through WUE; the second model [light use efficiency (LUE) model] simulates biomass increase in relation to absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and LUE. Furthermore, an analysis of the information contained in MODIS products is presented to indicate the best vegetation indices to be used as observational verification for the models. Enhanced Vegetation Index is reported in literature to be highly correlated with leaf area index, so it is compared with modelled LAI(mod) (rWUE model = 0.45; rLUE model = 0.57). In contrast, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index appears highly linked to soil moisture, through the control exerted by this variable on chlorophyll production, and is therefore used to analyze LAI*(mod), models' output corrected by plant water stress (rWUE model = 0.62; rLUE model = 0.59). Moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer Leaf Area Index and evapotranspiration are found to be unrealistic in the studied area. The performance of both models in this semiarid region is found to be reasonable. However, the LUE model presents the advantages of a better performance, the possibility to be used in a wider range of climates and to have been extensively tested in literature. (C) Copyright 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.The research leading to these results has received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the research projects FLOOD-MED (ref. CGL2008-06474-C02-02), SCARCE-CONSOLIDER (ref. CSD2009-00065) and ECO-TETIS (ref. CGL2011-28776-C02-01), and from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 238366. The MODIS data were obtained through the online Data Pool at the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Centre (LP DAAC), USGS/Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Centre, Sioux Falls, South Dakota (https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/get_data). The meteorological data were provided by the Spanish National Weather Agency (AEMET). The authors thank Antonio Del Campo Garcia and Maria Gonzalez Sanchis at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for their support and valuable comments.Pasquato, M.; Medici, C.; Friend, A.; Francés, F. (2015). Comparing two approaches for parsimonious vegetation modelling in semiarid regions using satellite data. Ecohydrology. 8(6):1024-1036. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1559S102410368

Cutibacterium acnes is present in non-herniated human discs; its positivity rate correlates with the patients age

Introduction: The presence of bacteria in the intervertebral discs (IVDs) and their role in disc degeneration is an area of controversy. Numerous studies have detected Cutibacterium acnes and other microbes with 16S DNA Sequencing and microbial cultures. However, those studies fail to determine whether the bacteria are in-vivo disc bacteria or perioperative contamination. Capoor et al. 1 performed confocal scanning laser microscopy for a limited number of herniated IVDs and detected C. acnes biofilms within the human specimens. Our study investigated the presence of Gram-positive bacteria C. acnes and Staphylococcus aureus in non-herniated human IVDs. Furthermore, expression of cellular recognition receptors Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, TLR4 and NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) and the pyroptosis marker Gasdermin D were investigated. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for Gram-positive bacteria, S. aureus, C.acnes TLR2, TLR4, NLRP3 and Gasdermin D was performed on 75 non-herniated human IVD samples. Cell detection and classification was performed using QuPath. Fluorescently labelled S. aureus cells were co-cultured with human NP cells in monolayer across multiplicity of Infection (MOI) range (1:10- 1:100), and analysed by confocal imaging. Furthermore, human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in monolayer were treated with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5-50μg/ml) and Peptidoglycan (PGN) (5-50 μg/ml) for 48h, and cells in 3D alginate with PGN for up to 72h. Secretome analysis was performed using Luminex for cytokines, chemokines, matrix degrading enzymes and other secreted factors. Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn’s multiple comparison test and Pearson correlation. Results Co-culture of S. aureus with NP cells showed internalisation of bacteria. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated gram positive bacteria was solely detected within cells and not as biofilm within the tissue. The positivity rate of C. acnes ranged between 5-99%. The number of C.acnes positive cells showed a correlation with the age of the patients (r=0.41, p= 0.007). However, it did not correlate with grade of degeneration. The positivity rate of TLR2 ranged between 5-99% and TLR4 from 3-72%. TLR2 and TLR4 showed a strong correlation (r= 0.62, p= 1.5e-006). A significant decrease in TLR2 was observed in females showing a mid-degenerative grade compared to females showing no signs of degeneration. Investigation of the presence and the correlation between NLRP3, GasderminD, S. aureus and the above-mentioned factors is undergoing. Treatment of NP cells with LPS and PGN resulted in an increase of several catabolic cytokines such as IL-1, TNF, IL-6 and IFN-γ alongside increased production of chemokines, neurotrophic and angiogenic factors associated with IVD degeneration. Conclusion This study demonstrated the presence of Gram-positive bacteria such as C. acnes in non-herniated and cadaveric human disc samples. The internalisation of bacteria by human NP cells was demonstrated and aligns with previous publications. Furthermore, this shows a correlation between age and the presence of C. acnes as well as a strong correlation between the two TLRs. Moreover, bacterial cell membrane components triggered a catabolic response in human disc cells. Ongoing interaction studies between bacteria and NP cells will give us insight it to the potential role of bacteria in disc degeneration