Lime stabilisation for earthworks: a UK perspective

Lime stabilisation is a versatile technique applied during earthworks operations. Modern soil recycling units are much more efficient at pulverising fill material and intermixing the added binder/water than machinery available 20 years ago. While supplier innovation adds flexibility to the site working method, specifications have not been sufficiently updated to permit optimal application. This review paper details the physico-chemical changes instigated through the lime-clay soil reaction, updating previous reviews. It aims to assist scientific debate, current practitioners and future specification changes. For example, the application of the minimum 24 h mellowing periods (mandatory to UK specifications) with high reactivity, quicklime powders is concluded to cause increased air voids in the compacted fill. Increased air voids are associated with reduced long-term strength and potential volume change from water ingress, which is of particular concern for sulfate swelling. Shorter mellowing periods and/or use of hydrated lime may lesson this issue; however, a 'one size fits all' approach is discouraged in preference to site-specific methodologies refined to suit the fill material and project requirements. The discussion also summarises working methods which may lower the risk of sulfate swell and defines areas requiring further practical research

Genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity in Streptococcus mutans isolated from diabetic patients in Rome, Italy

Our study focuses on the antimicrobial susceptibility, genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity, and serotype classification of the Streptococcus mutans isolated from type II diabetic patients (n = 25; age 42-68). Eighty-two percent of isolates were classified as serotype c. No serotype k was present. Macrorestriction analysis of genomic DNA of the isolates exhibited a clonal diversity that paralleled the phenotypic heterogeneity, which was also assessed in terms of biofilm forming ability. Isolates were susceptible to all the classes of antibiotics. In conclusion a great heterogeneity and no antimicrobial resistance were apparent in the considered S. mutans strains from diabetic patients

The Expression of BAFF, APRIL and TWEAK Is Altered in Eczema Skin but Not in the Circulation of Atopic and Seborrheic Eczema Patients

The TNF family cytokines BAFF (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family) and APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand) are crucial survival factors for B-cell development and activation. B-cell directed treatments have been shown to improve atopic eczema (AE), suggesting the involvement of these cytokines in the pathogenesis of AE. We therefore analyzed the expression of these TNF cytokines in AE, seborrheic eczema (SE) and healthy controls (HC). The serum/plasma concentration of BAFF, APRIL and a close TNF member TWEAK (TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis) was measured by ELISA. The expression of these cytokines and their receptors in skin was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Unlike other inflammatory diseases including autoimmune diseases and asthma, the circulating levels of BAFF, APRIL and TWEAK were not elevated in AE or SE patients compared with HCs and did not correlate with the disease severity or systemic IgE levels in AE patients. Interestingly, we found that the expression of these cytokines and their receptors was altered in positive atopy patch test reactions in AE patients (APT-AE) and in lesional skin of AE and SE patients. The expression of APRIL was decreased and the expression of BAFF was increased in eczema skin of AE and SE, which could contribute to a reduced negative regulatory input on B-cells. This was found to be more pronounced in APT-AE, the initiating acute stage of AE, which may result in dysregulation of over-activated B-cells. Furthermore, the expression levels of TWEAK and its receptor positively correlated to each other in SE lesions, but inversely correlated in AE lesions. These results shed light on potential pathogenic roles of these TNF factors in AE and SE, and pinpoint a potential of tailored treatments towards these factors in AE and SE

Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein Protects from Systemic Candida Infection

Fungi, such as Candida spp., are commonly found on the skin and at mucosal surfaces. Yet, they rarely cause invasive infections in immunocompetent individuals, an observation reflecting the ability of our innate immune system to control potentially invasive microbes found at biological boundaries. Antimicrobial proteins and peptides are becoming increasingly recognized as important effectors of innate immunity. This is illustrated further by the present investigation, demonstrating a novel antifungal role of histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG), an abundant and multimodular plasma protein. HRG bound to Candida cells, and induced breaks in the cell walls of the organisms. Correspondingly, HRG preferentially lysed ergosterol-containing liposomes but not cholesterol-containing ones, indicating a specificity for fungal versus other types of eukaryotic membranes. Both antifungal and membrane-rupturing activities of HRG were enhanced at low pH, and mapped to the histidine-rich region of the protein. Ex vivo, HRG-containing plasma as well as fibrin clots exerted antifungal effects. In vivo, Hrg−/− mice were susceptible to infection by C. albicans, in contrast to wild-type mice, which were highly resistant to infection. The results demonstrate a key and previously unknown antifungal role of HRG in innate immunity

SPARC 2019 Fake news & home truths : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2019 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also our first ever Doctoral School Best Supervisor awards, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 90 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant, innovative and collaborative PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the inspiring, relevant and impactful research in progress, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. Find an abstract that interests you, and say “Hello” to the author. Who knows what might result from your conversation? With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research needs interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised and rewarded by all major research funders. Engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers. Even better, our free ice cream van means that you can have those conversations while enjoying a refreshing ice lolly

The ELBA Force Field for Coarse-Grain Modeling of Lipid Membranes

A new coarse-grain model for molecular dynamics simulation of lipid membranes is presented. Following a simple and conventional approach, lipid molecules are modeled by spherical sites, each representing a group of several atoms. In contrast to common coarse-grain methods, two original (interdependent) features are here adopted. First, the main electrostatics are modeled explicitly by charges and dipoles, which interact realistically through a relative dielectric constant of unity (). Second, water molecules are represented individually through a new parametrization of the simple Stockmayer potential for polar fluids; each water molecule is therefore described by a single spherical site embedded with a point dipole. The force field is shown to accurately reproduce the main physical properties of single-species phospholipid bilayers comprising dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) in the liquid crystal phase, as well as distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) in the liquid crystal and gel phases. Insights are presented into fundamental properties and phenomena that can be difficult or impossible to study with alternative computational or experimental methods. For example, we investigate the internal pressure distribution, dipole potential, lipid diffusion, and spontaneous self-assembly. Simulations lasting up to 1.5 microseconds were conducted for systems of different sizes (128, 512 and 1058 lipids); this also allowed us to identify size-dependent artifacts that are expected to affect membrane simulations in general. Future extensions and applications are discussed, particularly in relation to the methodology's inherent multiscale capabilities

Interoception in anxiety and depression

We review the literature on interoception as it relates to depression and anxiety, with a focus on belief, and alliesthesia. The connection between increased but noisy afferent interoceptive input, self-referential and belief-based states, and top-down modulation of poorly predictive signals is integrated into a neuroanatomical and processing model for depression and anxiety. The advantage of this conceptualization is the ability to specifically examine the interface between basic interoception, self-referential belief-based states, and enhanced top-down modulation to attenuate poor predictability. We conclude that depression and anxiety are not simply interoceptive disorders but are altered interoceptive states as a consequence of noisily amplified self-referential interoceptive predictive belief states

The emerging modern face of mood disorders: a didactic editorial with a detailed presentation of data and definitions

The present work represents a detailed description of our current understanding and knowledge of the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis and clinical manifestations of mood disorders, their comorbidity and overlap, and the effect of variables such as gender and age. This review article is largely based on the 'Mood disorders' chapter of the Wikibooks Textbook of Psychiatry http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Textbook_of_Psychiatry/Mood_Disorders

The impact of viral mutations on recognition by SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells.

We identify amino acid variants within dominant SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes by interrogating global sequence data. Several variants within nucleocapsid and ORF3a epitopes have arisen independently in multiple lineages and result in loss of recognition by epitope-specific T cells assessed by IFN-γ and cytotoxic killing assays. Complete loss of T cell responsiveness was seen due to Q213K in the A∗01:01-restricted CD8+ ORF3a epitope FTSDYYQLY207-215; due to P13L, P13S, and P13T in the B∗27:05-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope QRNAPRITF9-17; and due to T362I and P365S in the A∗03:01/A∗11:01-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope KTFPPTEPK361-369. CD8+ T cell lines unable to recognize variant epitopes have diverse T cell receptor repertoires. These data demonstrate the potential for T cell evasion and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance for variants capable of escaping T cell as well as humoral immunity.This work is supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC); Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences(CAMS) Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS), China; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, and UK Researchand Innovation (UKRI)/NIHR through the UK Coro-navirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC). Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 samples and collation of data wasundertaken by the COG-UK CONSORTIUM. COG-UK is supported by funding from the Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC) part of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI),the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR),and Genome Research Limited, operating as the Wellcome Sanger Institute. T.I.d.S. is supported by a Well-come Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellowship (110058/Z/15/Z). L.T. is supported by the Wellcome Trust(grant number 205228/Z/16/Z) and by theUniversity of Liverpool Centre for Excellence in Infectious DiseaseResearch (CEIDR). S.D. is funded by an NIHR GlobalResearch Professorship (NIHR300791). L.T. and S.C.M.are also supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Medical Countermeasures Initiative contract75F40120C00085 and the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) inEmerging and Zoonotic Infections (NIHR200907) at University of Liverpool inpartnership with Public HealthEngland (PHE), in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Oxford.L.T. is based at the University of Liverpool. M.D.P. is funded by the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical ResearchCentre (BRC – IS-BRC-1215-20017). ISARIC4C is supported by the MRC (grant no MC_PC_19059). J.C.K.is a Wellcome Investigator (WT204969/Z/16/Z) and supported by NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centreand CIFMS. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or MRC

Scintillation light detection in the 6-m drift-length ProtoDUNE Dual Phase liquid argon TPC

DUNE is a dual-site experiment for long-baseline neutrino oscillation studies, neutrino astrophysics and nucleon decay searches. ProtoDUNE Dual Phase (DP) is a 6  ×  6  ×  6 m 3 liquid argon time-projection-chamber (LArTPC) that recorded cosmic-muon data at the CERN Neutrino Platform in 2019-2020 as a prototype of the DUNE Far Detector. Charged particles propagating through the LArTPC produce ionization and scintillation light. The scintillation light signal in these detectors can provide the trigger for non-beam events. In addition, it adds precise timing capabilities and improves the calorimetry measurements. In ProtoDUNE-DP, scintillation and electroluminescence light produced by cosmic muons in the LArTPC is collected by photomultiplier tubes placed up to 7 m away from the ionizing track. In this paper, the ProtoDUNE-DP photon detection system performance is evaluated with a particular focus on the different wavelength shifters, such as PEN and TPB, and the use of Xe-doped LAr, considering its future use in giant LArTPCs. The scintillation light production and propagation processes are analyzed and a comparison of simulation to data is performed, improving understanding of the liquid argon properties