(Re)presenting heritage: laser scanning and 3D visualisations for cultural resilience and community engagement.

Cultural heritage is increasingly being viewed as an economic asset for geographic areas who aim to capitalise in the surge in interest in local history and heritage tourism from members of the public. Digital technologies have developed that facilitate new forms of engagement with heritage and allow local areas to showcase their history, potentially broadening interest to a wider audience, thus acting as a driver for cultural and economic resilience. The research presented in this paper explores this through interdisciplinary research utilising laser scanning and visualisation in combination with social research in Elgin. 3D data capture technologies were used to develop and test 3D data visualisations and protocols through which the urban built heritage can be digitally recorded. The main focus of this paper surrounds the application and perceptions of these technologies. Findings suggest that the primary driver for cultural heritage developments was economic (with an emphasis on tourism) but further benefits and key factors of community engagement, social learning and cultural resilience were also reported. Stakeholder engagement and partnership working, in particular, were identified as critical factors of success. The findings from the community engagement events demonstrate that laser scanning and visualisation provide a novel and engaging mechanism for co-producing heritage assets. There is a high level of public interest in such technologies and users who engaged with these models reported that they gained new perspectives (including spatial and temporal perspectives) on the built heritage of the area

Legacy Effects of Canopy Disturbance on Ecosystem Functioning in Macroalgal Assemblages

Macroalgal assemblages are some of the most productive systems on earth and they contribute significantly to nearshore ecosystems. Globally, macroalgal assemblages are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities such as sedimentation, eutrophication and climate change. Despite this, very little research has considered the potential effects of canopy loss on primary productivity, although the literature is rich with evidence showing the ecological effects of canopy disturbance. In this study we used experimental removal plots of habitat-dominating algae (Order Fucales) that had been initiated several years previously to construct a chronosequence of disturbed macroalgal communities and to test if there were legacy effects of canopy loss on primary productivity. We used in situ photo-respirometry to test the primary productivity of algal assemblages in control and removal plots at two intertidal elevations. In the mid tidal zone assemblage, the removal plots at two sites had average primary productivity values of only 40% and 60% that of control areas after 90 months. Differences in productivity were associated with lower biomass and density of the fucoid algal canopy and lower taxa richness in the removal plots after 90 months. Low-shore plots, established three years earlier, showed that the loss of the large, dominant fucoid resulted in at least 50% less primary productivity of the algal assemblage than controls, which lasted for 90 months; other smaller fucoid species had recruited but they were far less productive. The long term reduction in primary productivity following a single episode of canopy loss of a dominant species in two tidal zones suggests that these assemblages are not very resilient to large perturbations. Decreased production output may have severe and long-lasting consequences on the surrounding communities and has the potential to alter nutrient cycling in the wider nearshore environment

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense group 1 is distinguished by a unique amino acid substitution in the HpHb receptor implicated in human serum resistance

Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (Tbr) and T. b. gambiense (Tbg), causative agents of Human African Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in Africa, have evolved alternative mechanisms of resisting the activity of trypanosome lytic factors (TLFs), components of innate immunity in human serum that protect against infection by other African trypanosomes. In Tbr, lytic activity is suppressed by the Tbr-specific serum-resistance associated (SRA) protein. The mechanism in Tbg is less well understood but has been hypothesized to involve altered activity and expression of haptoglobin haemoglobin receptor (HpHbR). HpHbR has been shown to facilitate internalization of TLF-1 in T.b. brucei (Tbb), a member of the T. brucei species complex that is susceptible to human serum. By evaluating the genetic variability of HpHbR in a comprehensive geographical and taxonomic context, we show that a single substitution that replaces leucine with serine at position 210 is conserved in the most widespread form of Tbg (Tbg group 1) and not found in related taxa, which are either human serum susceptible (Tbb) or known to resist lysis via an alternative mechanism (Tbr and Tbg group 2). We hypothesize that this single substitution contributes to reduced uptake of TLF and thus may play a key role in conferring serum resistance to Tbg group 1. In contrast, similarity in HpHbR sequence among isolates of Tbg group 2 and Tbb/Tbr provides further evidence that human serum resistance in Tbg group 2 is likely independent of HpHbR functio

Impulsivity in abstinent alcohol and polydrug dependence: a multidimensional approach.

RATIONALE: Dependence on drugs and alcohol is associated with impaired impulse control, but deficits are rarely compared across individuals dependent on different substances using several measures within a single study. OBJECTIVES: We investigated impulsivity in abstinent substance-dependent individuals (AbD) using three complementary techniques: self-report, neuropsychological and neuroimaging. We hypothesised that AbDs would show increased impulsivity across modalities, and that this would depend on length of abstinence. METHODS: Data were collected from the ICCAM study: 57 control and 86 AbDs, comprising a group with a history of dependence on alcohol only (n = 27) and a group with history of dependence on multiple substances ("polydrug", n = 59). All participants completed self-report measures of impulsivity: Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, UPPS Impulsive Behaviour Scale, Behaviour Inhibition/Activation System and Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. They also performed three behavioural tasks: Stop Signal, Intra-Extra Dimensional Set-Shift and Kirby Delay Discounting; and completed a Go/NoGo task during fMRI. RESULTS: AbDs scored significantly higher than controls on self-report measures, but alcohol and polydrug dependent groups did not differ significantly from each other. Polydrug participants had significantly higher discounting scores than both controls and alcohol participants. There were no group differences on the other behavioural measures or on the fMRI measure. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the current set of self-report measures of impulsivity is more sensitive in abstinent individuals than the behavioural or fMRI measures of neuronal activity. This highlights the importance of developing behavioural measures to assess different, more relevant, aspects of impulsivity alongside corresponding cognitive challenges for fMRI.This article presents independent research funded by the Medical Research Council as part of their addiction initiative (grant number G1000018). GSK kindly funded the functional and structural MRI scans that took place at Imperial College. The research was carried out at the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Imperial Clinical Research Facility, the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Cambridge Research Facility and Clinical Trials Unit at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, and is supported by the North West London, Eastern and Greater Manchester NIHR Clinical Research Networks.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-016-4245-

Evaluation of the utilization of the preanaesthetic clinics in a University teaching hospital

BACKGROUND: Dedicated out-patient preanaesthetic clinics are relatively recent phenomenon and information is sparse from developing world. This study attempted to evaluate the utilization of adult and paediatric preanaesthetic clinics and its impact on the cancellations of surgery in Trinidad. METHODS: All patients scheduled to have elective surgery during the period of twelve weeks were enrolled for prospective collection of data including demographics, the admitting diagnoses, surgical procedure, category of surgery and specialty, and the patients' attendance to preanaesthetic clinics. Cancellations on the day of surgery along with reasons were recorded. The difference between patients who attended and did not attend the clinic was analysed. RESULTS: Of 424 patients scheduled for procedures during the study period, 213 were adults and 211 were children. Overall 39% of adults and 46% of the children scheduled for surgery had previously attended the preanaesthetic clinic. Among adults, general surgery patients were the largest majority to attend the preanaesthetic clinic. The paediatric preanaesthetic clinic was mostly utilized by paediatric general surgery. Overall 30% of procedures in adults and 26% of those in children were cancelled. There was a statistically significant difference in cancellations between patients who attended and did not attend the preanaesthetic clinic (p = 0.004). There was a 52% more chance of the procedure getting cancelled if the patient did not attend the clinic. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the inadequate use of the preanaesthetic clinics and the impact of the clinics on last-minute cancellations

Essential versus accessory aspects of cell death: recommendations of the NCCD 2015

Cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical stimuli die in an uncontrollable manner, as a result of their immediate structural breakdown. Such an unavoidable variant of cellular demise is generally referred to as ‘accidental cell death’ (ACD). In most settings, however, cell death is initiated by a genetically encoded apparatus, correlating with the fact that its course can be altered by pharmacologic or genetic interventions. ‘Regulated cell death’ (RCD) can occur as part of physiologic programs or can be activated once adaptive responses to perturbations of the extracellular or intracellular microenvironment fail. The biochemical phenomena that accompany RCD may be harnessed to classify it into a few subtypes, which often (but not always) exhibit stereotyped morphologic features. Nonetheless, efficiently inhibiting the processes that are commonly thought to cause RCD, such as the activation of executioner caspases in the course of apoptosis, does not exert true cytoprotective effects in the mammalian system, but simply alters the kinetics of cellular demise as it shifts its morphologic and biochemical correlates. Conversely, bona fide cytoprotection can be achieved by inhibiting the transduction of lethal signals in the early phases of the process, when adaptive responses are still operational. Thus, the mechanisms that truly execute RCD may be less understood, less inhibitable and perhaps more homogeneous than previously thought. Here, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death formulates a set of recommendations to help scientists and researchers to discriminate between essential and accessory aspects of cell death

Phosphatidylserine targeting for diagnosis and treatment of human diseases

Cells are able to execute apoptosis by activating series of specific biochemical reactions. One of the most prominent characteristics of cell death is the externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS), which in healthy cells resides predominantly in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. These features have made PS-externalization a well-explored phenomenon to image cell death for diagnostic purposes. In addition, it was demonstrated that under certain conditions viable cells express PS at their surface such as endothelial cells of tumor blood vessels, stressed tumor cells and hypoxic cardiomyocytes. Hence, PS has become a potential target for therapeutic strategies aiming at Targeted Drug Delivery. In this review we highlight the biomarker PS and various PS-binding compounds that have been employed to target PS for diagnostic purposes. We emphasize the 35 kD human protein annexin A5, that has been developed as a Molecular Imaging agent to measure cell death in vitro, and non-invasively in vivo in animal models and in patients with cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Recently focus has shifted from diagnostic towards therapeutic applications employing annexin A5 in strategies to deliver drugs to cells that express PS at their surface

Molecular imaging of cell death in vivo by a novel small molecule probe

Apoptosis has a role in many medical disorders, therefore assessment of apoptosis in vivo can be highly useful for diagnosis, follow-up and evaluation of treatment efficacy. ApoSense is a novel technology, comprising low molecular-weight probes, specifically designed for imaging of cell death in vivo. In the current study we present targeting and imaging of cell death both in vitro and in vivo, utilizing NST-732, a member of the ApoSense family, comprising a fluorophore and a fluorine atom, for both fluorescent and future positron emission tomography (PET) studies using an 18F label, respectively. In vitro, NST-732 manifested selective and rapid accumulation within various cell types undergoing apoptosis. Its uptake was blocked by caspase inhibition, and occurred from the early stages of the apoptotic process, in parallel to binding of Annexin-V, caspase activation and alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential. In vivo, NST-732 manifested selective uptake into cells undergoing cell-death in several clinically-relevant models in rodents: (i) Cell-death induced in lymphoma by irradiation; (ii) Renal ischemia/reperfusion; (iii) Cerebral stroke. Uptake of NST-732 was well-correlated with histopathological assessment of cell-death. NST-732 therefore represents a novel class of small-molecule detectors of apoptosis, with potential useful applications in imaging of the cell death process both in vitro and in vivo

Transformation-induced changes in the DNA-nuclear matrix interface, revealed by high-throughput analysis of DNA halos

In higher eukaryotic nuclei, DNA is periodically anchored to an extraction-resistant protein structure, via matrix attachment regions. We describe a refined and accessible method to non-subjectively, rapidly and reproducibly measure both size and stability of the intervening chromatin loops, and use it to demonstrate that malignant transformation compromises the DNA-nuclear matrix interface