Scotland's building stone industry: a review

Scotland has one of the richest legacies of traditional (pre-1919) buildings and other stone structures of any country in the world, but the building stone industry that created that legacy is now a small fraction of its former size and struggling to survive as the use of imported stone continues to grow. This report presents an objective review of the building stone industry in Scotland today. It includes: a brief synopsis of its history; evidence of its current fragile state, and the threat this poses to the historic and natural environments; an analysis of the potential for the industry to grow, and the benefits that a stronger indigenous industry could bring; a description of factors that are holding back its development (‘barriers to growth’); and a list of practical steps that can be taken by the industry and other stakeholders to encourage and facilitate growth

Recording, monitoring and managing the conservation of historic sites : a new application for BGS Sigma

Historic Environment Scotland (HES), a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment, is directly responsible for 335 sites of national significance, most of which are built from stone. Similar to other heritage organisations, HES needs a system that can store and present conservation and maintenance information for historic sites; ideally, the same system could be used to plan effective programmes of maintenance and repair. To meet this need, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has worked with HES to develop an integrated digital site assessment system that provides a refined survey process for stone-built (and other) historic sites. Based on the BGS System for Integrated Geoscience Mapping (BGS▪SIGMA)—an integrated workflow underpinned by a geo-spatial platform for data capture and interpretation—the system is built on top of ESRI’s ArcGIS software, and underpinned by a relational database. Users can populate custom-built data entry forms to record maintenance issues and repair specifications for architectural elements ranging from individual blocks of stone to entire building elevations. Photographs, sketches, and digital documents can be linked to architectural elements to enhance the usability of the data. Predetermined data fields and supporting dictionaries constrain the input parameters to ensure a high degree of consistency and facilitate data extraction and querying. Presenting the data within a GIS provides a versatile planning tool for scheduling works, specifying materials, identifying skills needed for repairs, and allocating resources. The overall condition of a site can be monitored accurately over time by repeating the survey at regular intervals (e.g. every 5 years). Other datasets can be linked to the database and other geospatially referenced datasets can be superimposed in GIS, adding considerably to the scope and utility of the system. The system can be applied to any geospatially referenced object in a wide range of situations thus providing many potential applications in conservation, archaeology and related fields

A Building Stone Assessment of sandstone in Iona Nunnery and at Carsaig quarry on Mull

This report presents the outcomes of a project commissioned by Historic Scotland to determine, using a combination of archival records and geological evidence, whether blocks of sandstone in Iona Nunnery (a Scheduled Monument on the island of Iona) came from Carsaig quarry (a long-disused quarry on the south coast of Mull). The report also considers the feasibility of sourcing new stone to use in future repairs to the nunnery from Carsaig quarry and from the remains of nearby Carsaig pier. Details of the most suitable commercially available stones from elsewhere in the UK are also provided, should it prove not possible or not practical to obtain new stone from Carsaig quarry or Carsaig pier

The building stones and slates of Killin : an investigation of stone for the built heritage

The village of Killin lies in an area of dramatic landscape and mountain scenery. The use of local stone in the buildings gives a direct connection to this landscape and reflects the local geology, comprising mostly metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age –dominantly limestone, meta-sandstone, mica schist and meta-igneous rocks. All of these (with the exception of the Loch Tay Limestone which was used for soil improvement) were used in buildings and structures within the Killin Conservation Area. The stone masonry in the village is classified into five categories; (1) cottages (mostly harled) built of random rubble from field and river boulders and surface rock outcrops, (2) two storey buildings with irregular coursed rubble walls of meta-sandstone and mica schist with large dressings of silver-grey slabs of actinolite schist, (3) and (4) larger late 19th century buildings with dressings of Central Belt sandstone used in combination with squared rubble walling of local actinolite schist and metasandstone. The 5th masonry category represents relatively late buildings constructed using distinctive imported stone types (e.g. whinstone, granite, red sandstone). These categories are broadly chronological in order and reflect the development of architectural form along with improving transportation of materials over time

A building stone assessment of The Engine Shed, Stirling

This report describes the outcomes of a project commissioned by Historic Scotland to identify suitable stone to use in forthcoming repairs to the building known as The Engine Shed, in Stirling, which will become Historic Scotland’s National Conservation Centre. A Building Stone Assessment has been conducted on three samples of sandstone supplied by Historic Scotland – two from different parts of The Engine Shed and one from the recently demolished Seaforth Place Bridge in Stirling – with a view to assessing whether stone recovered from the demolished bridge could be considered amongst the closest-matching currently available stones and therefore a suitable replacement stone. This assessment has shown that stone from the bridge is amongst the closest-matching stones, and should provide a good replacement stone for walling and copestones in The Engine Shed provided weathered stone is first removed from the recycled blocks and any blocks required to perform a load-bearing function are subjected to a geotechnical test to confirm they are sufficiently strong. Drumhead sandstone, which is currently quarried near Denny, should also provide a good replacement stone

Expression of Cholera Toxin B–Proinsulin Fusion Protein in Lettuce and Tobacco Chloroplasts – Oral Administration Protects Against Development of Insulitis in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice

Lettuce and tobacco chloroplast transgenic lines expressing the cholera toxin B subunit–human proinsulin (CTB-Pins) fusion protein were generated. CTB-Pins accumulated up to ~16% of total soluble protein (TSP) in tobacco and up to ~2.5% of TSP in lettuce. Eight milligrams of powdered tobacco leaf material expressing CTB-Pins or, as negative controls, CTB–green fluorescent protein (CTB-GFP) or interferon–GFP (IFN-GFP), or untransformed leaf, were administered orally, each week for 7 weeks, to 5-week-old female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. The pancreas of CTB-Pins-treated mice showed decreased infiltration of cells characteristic of lymphocytes (insulitis); insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreatic islets of CTB-Pins-treated mice were significantly preserved, with lower blood or urine glucose levels, by contrast with the few β-cells remaining in the pancreatic islets of the negative controls. Increased expression of immunosuppressive cytokines, such as interleukin-4 and interleukin-10 (IL-4 and IL-10), was observed in the pancreas of CTB-Pins-treated NOD mice. Serum levels of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), but not IgG2a, were elevated in CTB-Pins-treated mice. Taken together, T-helper 2 (Th2) lymphocyte-mediated oral tolerance is a likely mechanism for the prevention of pancreatic insulitis and the preservation of insulin-producing β-cells. This is the first report of expression of a therapeutic protein in transgenic chloroplasts of an edible crop. Transplastomic lettuce plants expressing CTB-Pins grew normally and transgenes were maternally inherited in T1 progeny. This opens up the possibility for the low-cost production and delivery of human therapeutic proteins, and a strategy for the treatment of various other autoimmune diseases

Polyploidization for the genetic improvement of cannabis sativa

Cannabis sativa L. is a diploid species, cultivated throughout the ages as a source of fiber, food, and secondary metabolites with therapeutic and recreational properties. Polyploidization is considered as a valuable tool in the genetic improvement of crop plants. Although this method has been used in hemp-type Cannabis, it has never been applied to drug-type strains. Here, we describe the development of tetraploid drug-type Cannabis lines and test whether this transformation alters yield or the profile of important secondary metabolites: Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), or terpenes. The mitotic spindle inhibitor oryzalin was used to induce polyploids in a THC/CBD balanced drug-type strain of Cannabis sativa. Cultured axillary bud explants were exposed to a range of oryzalin concentrations for 24 h. Flow cytometry was used to assess the ploidy of regenerated shoots. Treatment with 20–40 μM oryzalin produced the highest number of tetraploids. Tetraploid clones were assessed for changes in morphology and chemical profile compared to diploid control plants. Tetraploid fan leaves were larger, with stomata about 30% larger and about half as dense compared to diploids. Trichome density was increased by about 40% on tetraploid sugar leaves, coupled with significant changes in the terpene profile and a 9% increase in CBD that was significant in buds. No significa

Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for second-line treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus (EcLiPSE): a multicentre, open-label, randomised trial

Background Phenytoin is the recommended second-line intravenous anticonvulsant for treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus in the UK; however, some evidence suggests that levetiracetam could be an effective and safer alternative. This trial compared the efficacy and safety of phenytoin and levetiracetam for second-line management of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus.Methods This open-label, randomised clinical trial was undertaken at 30 UK emergency departments at secondary and tertiary care centres. Participants aged 6 months to under 18 years, with convulsive status epilepticus requiring second-line treatment, were randomly assigned (1:1) using a computer-generated randomisation schedule to receive levetiracetam (40 mg/kg over 5 min) or phenytoin (20 mg/kg over at least 20 min), stratified by centre. The primary outcome was time from randomisation to cessation of convulsive status epilepticus, analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population (excluding those who did not require second-line treatment after randomisation and those who did not provide consent). This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN22567894.Findings Between July 17, 2015, and April 7, 2018, 1432 patients were assessed for eligibility. After exclusion of ineligible patients, 404 patients were randomly assigned. After exclusion of those who did not require second-line treatment and those who did not consent, 286 randomised participants were treated and had available data: 152 allocated to levetiracetam, and 134 to phenytoin. Convulsive status epilepticus was terminated in 106 (70%) children in the levetiracetam group and in 86 (64%) in the phenytoin group. Median time from randomisation to cessation of convulsive status epilepticus was 35 min (IQR 20 to not assessable) in the levetiracetam group and 45 min (24 to not assessable) in the phenytoin group (hazard ratio 1·20, 95% CI 0·91–1·60; p=0·20). One participant who received levetiracetam followed by phenytoin died as a result of catastrophic cerebral oedema unrelated to either treatment. One participant who received phenytoin had serious adverse reactions related to study treatment (hypotension considered to be immediately life-threatening [a serious adverse reaction] and increased focal seizures and decreased consciousness considered to be medically significant [a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction]). Interpretation Although levetiracetam was not significantly superior to phenytoin, the results, together with previously reported safety profiles and comparative ease of administration of levetiracetam, suggest it could be an appropriate alternative to phenytoin as the first-choice, second-line anticonvulsant in the treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe