Long-range, critical-point dynamics in oil field flow rate data

Earthquake triggering data exhibit long-range spatio-temporal correlations of the power-law form C(l) ∼ l−α and anomalously-slow temporal diffusion of the mean triggering distance of the form: 〈l〉 ∼ tH, with H < 0.5. We examine spatio-temporal correlations in subsurface effective stress state caused by fluid injection and extraction at well sites in a hydrocarbon reservoir using a multivariate statistical regression model, and observe long-range correlations in flow rate that cannot be caused by Darcy flow alone. Significantly-correlated well pairs align with the directions of incipient horizontal-displacement tensile and shear failure in the present-day stress field, while the contours of the first principal component of the regression matrix closely follow the macroscopic fault pattern in the main producing horizon. The correlation function for well pairs has a power-law form with α ≈ 0.5, and the mean correlation distance increases with H ≈ 0.33, implying a similar critical-point response to perturbations in effective stress as the earthquake data

A direct urea fuel cell - power from fertiliser and waste

For the first time, a working direct urea and direct urine fuel cell has been developed to generate electricity directly from urea or urine

The Conservatives and the Union: The 'New English Toryism' and the Origins of Anglo-Britishness

The Union has for over a century been one of the cornerstones of Conservative politics, but with the changes to the old union state in the last 20 years, its value has been increasingly questioned. While the Conservative Party remains committed to maintaining the Union, a new English Toryism is emerging, which has a strong continuity with an older English Toryism which was partially buried by the ascendancy of Unionism. English Tories have always considered the Union to be desirable, but it comes second in their thinking to the need to protect the sovereignty of the British state, the core of which is England and its traditional institutions. What is new about the contemporary Conservative Party is that there is within it the revival of an English Toryism which is happy to discard the older clothes of Empire and Union once so important to Conservative identity and which is unabashedly English in its focus. For an increasing number of contemporary Conservatives, there no longer seems to be any passion about defending the Union or even of continuing to think about the United Kingdom in Unionist terms

Albert Pierrepoint and the cultural persona of the twentieth-century hangman

Albert Pierrepoint was Britain’s most famous 20th-century hangman. This article utilises diverse sources in order to chart his public representation, or cultural persona, as hangman from his rise to prominence in the mid-1940s to his portrayal in the biopic Pierrepoint(2005). It argues that Pierrepoint exercised agency in shaping this persona through publishing his autobiography and engagement with the media, although there were also representations that he did not influence. In particular, it explores three iterations of his cultural persona – the Professional Hangman, the Reformed Hangman and the Haunted Hangman. Each of these built on and reworked historical antecedents and also communicated wider understandings and contested meanings in relation to capital punishment. As a hangman who remained in the public eye after the death penalty in Britain was abolished, Pierrepoint was an important, authentic link to the practice of execution and a symbolic figure in debates over reintroduction. In the 21st century, he was portrayed as a victim of the ‘secondary trauma’ of the death penalty, which resonated with worldwide campaigns for abolition

Imaging Mass Spectrometry Detection of Gangliosides Species in the Mouse Brain following Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia and Long-Term Recovery

Gangliosides, a member of the glycosphingolipid family, are heterogeneously expressed in biological membranes and are particularly enriched within the central nervous system. Gangliosides consist of mono- or poly-sialylated oligosaccharide chains of variable lengths attached to a ceramide unit and are found to be intimately involved in brain disease development. The purpose of this study is to examine the spatial profile of ganglioside species using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging (IMS) following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) reperfusion injury in the mouse. IMS is a powerful method to not only discriminate gangliosides by their oligosaccharide components, but also by their carbon length within their sphingosine base. Mice were subjected to a 30 min unilateral MCAO followed by long-term survival (up to 28 days of reperfusion). Brain sections were sprayed with the matrix 5-Chloro-2-mercaptobenzothiazole, scanned and analyzed for a series of ganglioside molecules using an Applied Biosystems 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF. Traditional histological and immunofluorescence techniques were performed to assess brain tissue damage and verification of the expression of gangliosides of interest. Results revealed a unique anatomical profile of GM1, GD1 and GT1b (d18∶1, d20∶1 as well as other members of the glycosphingolipid family). There was marked variability in the ratio of expression between ipsilateral and contralateral cortices for the various detected ganglioside species following MCAO-reperfusion injury. Most interestingly, MCAO resulted in the transient induction of both GM2 and GM3 signals within the ipsilateral hemisphere; at the border of the infarcted tissue. Taken together, the data suggest that brain region specific expression of gangliosides, particularly with respect to hydrocarbon length, may play a role in neuronal responses to injury

TNF-α and NF-κB Signaling Play a Critical Role in Cigarette Smoke-induced Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells in Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is characterized by the growth and contraction of cellular membranes within the vitreous cavity and on both surfaces of the retina, resulting in recurrent retinal detachments and poor visual outcomes. Proinflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) have been associated with PVR and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Cigarette smoke is the only known modifiable risk factor for PVR, but the mechanisms are unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of cigarette smoke on the proinflammatory TNFα/NF-κB/Snail pathway in RPE cells to better understand the mechanisms through which cigarette smoke increases the risk of PVR. Human ARPE-19 cells were exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE), for 4 to 24-hours and TNFα, Snail, IL-6, IL-8, and α-SMA levels were analyzed by qPCR and/or Western blot. The severity of PVR formation was assessed in a murine model of PVR after intravitreal injection of ARPE-19 cells pre-treated with CSE or not. Fundus imaging, OCT imaging, and histologic analysis 4 weeks after injection were used to examine PVR severity. ARPE-19 cells exposed to CSE expressed higher levels of TNFα, SNAIL, IL6 and IL8 mRNA as well as SNAIL, Vimentin and α-SMA protein. Inhibition of TNFα and NF-κB pathways blocked the effect of CSE. In vivo, intravitreal injection of ARPE-19 cells treated with CSE resulted in more severe PVR compared to mice injected with untreated RPE cells. These studies suggest that the TNFα pathway is involved in the mechanism whereby cigarette smoke increases PVR. Further investigation into the role of TNFα/NF-κB/Snail in driving PVR and pharmacological targeting of these pathways in disease are warranted

Diversity in Expression of Phosphorus (P) Responsive Genes in Cucumis melo L

Phosphorus (P) is a major limiting nutrient for plant growth in many soils. Studies in model species have identified genes involved in plant adaptations to low soil P availability. However, little information is available on the genetic bases of these adaptations in vegetable crops. In this respect, sequence data for melon now makes it possible to identify melon orthologues of candidate P responsive genes, and the expression of these genes can be used to explain the diversity in the root system adaptation to low P availability, recently observed in this species