Earthworks risk assessment on a heritage railway

The UK is home to a substantial number of heritage and tourist railways, which make a significant contribution to their local economies. They are mostly constructed on the routes of closed lines, and include large numbers of earthworks of uncertain construction and unknown strength. Recently, there have been earthwork collapses, most notably on the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway during 2010 and 2011. The Office of Rail Regulation has also noted a number of safety incidents on heritage railways, all attributable to management failures. This paper describes an analysis of the Victorian earthworks on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, a 8 km-long heritage railway in central Scotland. The analysis and risk prioritisation method used by Network Rail was found to be unsuitable for direct application to heritage railways, owing to the different operating context. A new system was therefore developed, removing some risk factors from the Network Rail approach, adding others, and modifying further ones. The new system was successfully applied, and the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway earthworks were found to be generally stable and safe

Similar promotion of Aβ(1-42 )fibrillogenesis by native apolipoprotein E ε3 and ε4 isoforms

The apolipoprotein E ε4 allele contributes to the genetic susceptibility underlying a large proportion (~40–60%) of typical, sporadic Alzheimer disease. Apolipoprotein E deficient mice made transgenic for human apolipoprotein E ε4 accumulate excess cerebral amyloid when compared to similarly prepared mice expressing human apolipoprotein E ε3. Therefore, it is important to search for relevant interactions(s) between apolipoprotein E ε4 and Aβ in order to clarify the biological role for apolipoprotein E ε4 in Alzheimer disease. Using a thioflavine T (ThT)-based assay, we have investigated the effects of native human apolipoprotein E isoforms on the kinetics of Aβ fibrillogenesis. No obvious profibrillogenic activity was detected in Aβ(1-40)-based assays of any native apolipoprotein E isoform. However, when ThT assays were repeated using Aβ(1-42), modest, but statistically significant, profibrillogenic activity was detected in both apolipoprotein E ε3- and apolipoprotein E ε4-containing media and was similar in magnitude for the two isoforms. These data demonstrate that native apolipoprotein E possesses "pathological chaperone"-type activity for Aβ: in other words, the data indicate that a chaperone-like misfolding reaction can occur between native apolipoprotein E and Aβ. However, the equipotent activities of the apolipoprotein E ε3 and ε4 isoforms suggests the possibility that either extended co-incubation of apolipoprotein E and Aβ, or, perhaps, the inclusion in the reaction of other fibrillogenesis-modulation co-factors (such as metal ions, or inflammatory mediators such as reactive oxygen species, α(2)-macroglobulin, apolipoprotein J, etc.) may be required for modeling in vitro the apolipoprotein E-isoform-specific-regulation of extracellular Aβ accumulation that occurs in vivo. Alternatively, other events, such as differential apolipoprotein E-isoform-mediated clearance of Aβ or of apolipoprotein E/Aβ complexes may underlie apolipoprotein E-isoform-dependent Aβ accumulation

A highly successful model? The rail franchising business in Britain

A crucial feature of rail privatisation in Britain was franchising. Passenger services were franchised in competitive bidding processes to train operators which were meant to function with declining subsidy. The paper adopts the framework of social cost-benefit analysis to examine rail privatisation's impact on three key groups; consumers, producers and the government. It establishes that privatisation did not achieve all the supposed benefits. Further, franchising only appears to be profitable through the use of calculative accounting practices, where by franchised train operators are portrayed as discrete business entities, whereas they are supported by very substantial, ongoing direct and indirect government subsidies

A highly successful model? The rail franchising business in Britain

A crucial feature of rail privatisation in Britain was franchising. Passenger services were franchised in competitive bidding processes to train operators which were meant to function with declining subsidy. The paper adopts the framework of social cost-benefit analysis to examine rail privatisation's impact on three key groups; consumers, producers and the government. It establishes that privatisation did not achieve all the supposed benefits. Further, franchising only appears to be profitable through the use of calculative accounting practices, where by franchised train operators are portrayed as discrete business entities, whereas they are supported by very substantial, ongoing direct and indirect government subsidies

Tracking long-distance migration to assess marine pollution impact

Animal tracking provides new means to assess far-reaching environmental impacts. In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, a long-distance migrant, the northern gannet (Morus bassanus) suffered the highest oiling among beach-wrecked birds recovered. Analysis of bird-borne tracking data indicated that 25 per cent of their North American population from multiple colonies in eastern Canada migrated to the pollution zone. Findings contrasted sharply with available mark-recapture (band recovery) data. The timing of movement into and out of the Gulf indicates that immature birds would have absorbed most oil-induced mortality. Consequently, one of two outcomes is likely: either a lagged (likely difficult to assess) population decrease, or an undetectable population response buffered by age-related life-history adaptations. Tracking research is especially useful when little information on animal distributions in pollution zones is available, as is the case in the Gulf of Mexico. Ongoing research highlights current risks and conservation concerns

Railway bridge structural health monitoring and fault detection: state-of-the-art methods and future challenges

Railway importance in the transportation industry is increasing continuously, due to the growing demand of both passenger travel and transportation of goods. However, more than 35% of the 300,000 railway bridges across Europe are over 100-years old, and their reliability directly impacts the reliability of the railway network. This increased demand may lead to higher risk associated with their unexpected failures, resulting safety hazards to passengers and increased whole life cycle cost of the asset. Consequently, one of the most important aspects of evaluation of the reliability of the overall railway transport system is bridge structural health monitoring, which can monitor the health state of the bridge by allowing an early detection of failures. Therefore, a fast, safe and cost-effective recovery of the optimal health state of the bridge, where the levels of element degradation or failure are maintained efficiently, can be achieved. In this article, after an introduction to the desired features of structural health monitoring, a review of the most commonly adopted bridge fault detection methods is presented. Mainly, the analysis focuses on model-based finite element updating strategies, non-model-based (data-driven) fault detection methods, such as artificial neural network, and Bayesian belief network–based structural health monitoring methods. A comparative study, which aims to discuss and compare the performance of the reviewed types of structural health monitoring methods, is then presented by analysing a short-span steel structure of a railway bridge. Opportunities and future challenges of the fault detection methods of railway bridges are highlighted

The role of a new CD44st in increasing the invasion capability of the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CD44, a hyaluronan (HA) receptor, is a multistructural and multifunctional cell surface molecule involved in cell proliferation, cell differentiation, cell migration, angiogenesis, presentation of cytokines, chemokines and growth factors to the corresponding receptors, and docking of proteases at the cell membrane, as well as in signaling for cell survival. The CD44 gene contains 20 exons that are alternatively spliced, giving rise to many CD44 isoforms, perhaps including tumor-specific sequences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to detect CD44st mRNA and CD44 protein in sensitive MCF-7, Lovo, K562 and HL-60 cell lines as well as their parental counterparts, respectively. The full length cDNA encoding CD44st was obtained from the total RNA isolated from MCF-7/Adr cells by RT-PCR, and subcloned into the pMD19-T vector. The CD44st gene sequence and open reading frame were confirmed by restriction enzyme analysis and nucleotide sequencing, and then inserted into the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1. The pcDNA3.1-CD44st was transfected into MCF-7 cells using Lipofectamine. After transfection, the positive clones were obtained by G418 screening. The changes of the MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes and protein levels were detected by RT-PCR and gelatin zymography, respectively. The number of the cells penetrating through the artificial matrix membrane in each group (MCF-7, MCF-7+HA, MCF-7/neo, MCF-7/neo+HA, MCF-7/CD44st, MCF-7/CD44st+HA and MCF-7/CD44st+Anti-CD44+HA) was counted to compare the change of the invasion capability regulated by the CD44st. Erk and P-Erk were investigated by Western blotting to approach the molecular mechanisms of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression regulated by the CD44st.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sensitive MCF-7, Lovo, K562 and HL-60 cells did not contain CD44st mRNA and CD44 protein. In contrast, the multidrug resistance MCF-7/Adr, Lovo/Adr, K562/Adr and HL-60/Adr cells expressed CD44st mRNA and CD44 protein. The CD44st mRNA gene sequence was successfully cloned into the recombinant vector pcDNA3.1 and identified by the two restriction enzymes. It was confirmed that the reconstructed plasmid contained the gene sequence of CD44st that was composed of exons 1 to 4, 16 to 17, and 1 to 205 bases of exons 18. The new gene sequence was sent to NCBI for publication, and obtained the registration number FJ216964. The up-regulated level of the mRNA of the CD44 gene and the CD44 protein were detected, respectively, by RT-PCR and flow cytometry in MCF-7 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-CD44st. The invasiveness of the cells and the activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were clearly activated by HA treatment, and blocked by CD44 neutralizing antibody. MCF-7/CD44st cells pretreated with the neutralizing antibody against CD44, and the inhibitor of MAPKs signaling pathway, could strongly block the expression of P-Erk.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A new CD44st was expressed in multidrug resistant MCF-7/Adr, Lovo/Adr, K562/Adr and HL-60/Adr cells. The expression vector pcDNA3.1-CD44st was cloned and constructed successfully, and stably transfected into MCF-7 cells. HA could interact with the new CD44st and regulate the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9, which could increase the invasion capability of MCF-7 cells through the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway.</p

Owning the problem: Media portrayals of overweight dogs and the shared determinants of the health of human and companion animal populations

Weight-related health problems have become a common topic in Western mass media. News-coverage has also extended to overweight pets, particularly since 2003 when the U.S. National Academy of Sciences announced that obesity was also afflicting co-habiting companion animals in record numbers. To characterize and track views in popular circulation on causes, consequences and responsibilities vis-à-vis weight gain and obesity, in pets as well as in people, this study examines portrayals of overweight dogs that appeared from 2000 through 2009 in British, American and Australian mass media. The ethnographic content analysis drew inspiration from the literature in population health, animal-human relationships, communication framing and the active nature of texts in cosmopolitan societies. Three main types of media articles about overweight dogs appeared during this period: 1) reports emphasizing facts and figures; 2) stories emphasizing personal prescriptions for dog owners, and 3) societal critiques. To help ordinary people make sense of canine obesity, media articles often highlight that dogs share the lifestyle of their human companion or owner, yet the implications of shared social and physical environments is rarely considered when it comes to solutions. Instead, media coverage exhorts people who share their lives with overweight dogs to ‘own the problem’ and, with resolve, to normalize their dog’s physical condition by imposing dietary, exercise and relationship changes, thereby individualizing culpability rather than linking it to broader systemic issues. Keywords: Companion animals; Media; Narrative analysis; Obesity; Public understandin

The value of CCTV surveillance cameras as an investigative tool: an empirical analysis

There has been extensive research on the value of closed-circuit television (CCTV) for preventing crime, but little on its value as an investigative tool. This study sought to establish how often CCTV provides useful evidence and how this is affected by circumstances, analysing 251,195 crimes recorded by British Transport Police that occurred on the British railway network between 2011 and 2015. CCTV was available to investigators in 45% of cases and judged to be useful in 29% (65% of cases in which it was available). Useful CCTV was associated with significantly increased chances of crimes being solved for all crime types except drugs/weapons possession and fraud. Images were more likely to be available for more-serious crimes, and less likely to be available for cases occurring at unknown times or in certain types of locations. Although this research was limited to offences on railways, it appears that CCTV is a powerful investigative tool for many types of crime. The usefulness of CCTV is limited by several factors, most notably the number of public areas not covered. Several recommendations for increasing the usefulness of CCTV are discussed

A Review of Risk Matrices Used in Acute Hospitals in England.

In healthcare, patient safety has received substantial attention and, in turn, a number of approaches to managing safety have been adopted from other high-risk industries. One of these has been risk assessment, predominantly through the use of risk matrices. However, while other industries have criticized the design and use of these risk matrices, the applicability of such criticism has not been investigated formally in healthcare. This study examines risk matrices as used in acute hospitals in England and the guidance provided for their use. It investigates the applicability of criticisms of risk matrices from outside healthcare through a document analysis of the risk assessment policies, procedures, and strategies used in English hospitals. The findings reveal that there is a large variety of risk matrices used, where the design of some might increase the chance of risk misprioritization. Additionally, findings show that hospitals may provide insufficient guidance on how to use risk matrices as well as what to do in response to the existing criticisms of risk matrices. Consequently, this is likely to lead to variation in the quality of risk assessment and in the subsequent deployment of resources to manage the assessed risk. Finally, the article outlines ways in which hospitals could use risk matrices more effectively