Geomorphological control on boulder transport and coastal erosion before, during and after an extreme extra-tropical cyclone

Extreme wave events in coastal zones are principal drivers of geomorphic change. Evidence of boulder entrainment and erosional impact during storms is increasing. However, there is currently poor time coupling between pre- and post-storm measurements of coastal boulder deposits. Importantly there are no data reporting shore platform erosion, boulder entrainment and/or boulder transport during storm events – rock coast dynamics during storm events are currently unexplored. Here, we use high-resolution (daily) field data to measure and characterise coastal boulder transport before, during and after the extreme Northeast Atlantic extra-tropical cyclone Johanna in March 2008. Forty-eight limestone fine-medium boulders (n = 46) and coarse cobbles (n = 2) were tracked daily over a 0.1 km2 intertidal area during this multi-day storm. Boulders were repeatedly entrained, transported and deposited, and in some cases broken down (n = 1) or quarried (n = 3), during the most intense days of the storm. Eighty-one percent (n = 39) of boulders were located at both the start and end of the storm. Of these, 92% were entrained where entrainment patterns were closely aligned to wave parameters. These data firmly demonstrate rock coasts are dynamic and vulnerable under storm conditions. No statistically significant relationship was found between boulder size (mass) and net transport distance. Graphical analyses suggest that boulder size limits the maximum longshore transport distance but that for the majority of boulders lying under this threshold, other factors influence transport distance. Paired analysis of 20 similar sized and shaped boulders in different morphogenic zones demonstrates that geomorphological control affects entrainment and transport distance – where net transport distances were up to 39 times less where geomorphological control was greatest. These results have important implications for understanding and for accurately measuring and modelling boulde

Increased particle emissions from early fuel injection timing Diesel low temperature combustion

A clean premixed Diesel combustion strategy, called low temperature combustion (LTC), was able to achieve very low nitrogen oxide emissions (<35 ppm) through use of exhaust gas recirculation (12.1% inlet oxygen), and reduced particulate matter (PM) emissions (<0.05 FSN) through advanced fuel injection timing (-24°aTDC). When varying the injection timing by relatively small increments, large changes in PM mass and number emissions were measured within the premixed LTC regime. A discrepancy is investigated between expected reductions in PM emissions by simple fuel-air premixing and combustion temperature metrics, and actual PM emissions measurements when advancing the fuel injection timing earlier than -24°aTDC. For these earlier injection timings, particle numbers were seen to increase in two distinct particle size modes, whereas only one particle size mode existed at the minimum PM emissions -24°aTDC injection timing. Additional parameters from a 1D free fuel spray model were used to suggest new information that could explain the cause of these unexpected increases in PM. Using 0D and 1D calculations, the engine-out particle size and number emissions are analyzed to better understand their sensitivity to changes in the fuel injection timing within the early injection timing LTC regime. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors sincerely thank Gabriel Alcantarilla, Rogerio Jorge Amorim, Simon Arthozoul, and Sara Goska for their great assistance in experimental data collection and post-analysis. The authors wish to acknowledge the Generalitat Valenciana for the financial support through the project GVA PROMETEO CMT 2010 (reference code: GR001/2009/00167539). Financial support of Christopher Kolodziej's research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education. This publication comes from a portion of the doctoral thesis work of Christopher Kolodziej.Benajes Calvo, JV.; García Oliver, JM.; Novella Rosa, R.; Kolodziej, CP. (2012). Increased particle emissions from early fuel injection timing Diesel low temperature combustion. Fuel. 94(1):184-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2011.09.014S18419094

Moisture susceptibility of high and low compaction dry process crumb rubber modified asphalt mixtures

The field performance of dry process crumb rubber-modified (CRM) asphalt mixtures has been reported to be inconsistent with stripping and premature cracking on the surfacing. One of the concerns is that, because achieving field compaction of CRM material is difficult due to the inherent resilient nature of the rubber particle, nonuniform field compaction may lead to a deficient bond between rubber and bitumen. To assess the influence of compaction, a series of CRM and control mixtures was produced and compacted at two levels: 4% (low, optimum laboratory compaction) and 8% (high, field experience) air void content. The long-term durability, in regard to moisture susceptibility of the mixtures, was assessed by conducting repeated moisture conditioning cycles. Mechanical properties (stiffness, fatigue, and resistance to permanent deformation) were determined in the Nottingham Asphalt Tester. Results indicated that compared with conventional mixtures, the CRM mixtures, regardless of compaction effort, are more susceptible to moisture with the degree of susceptibility primarily depending on the amount of rubber in the mixture, rather than the difference in compaction. This behavior is different from that of conventional mixtures in which, as expected, poorly compacted mixtures were found to be more susceptible to moisture than were well-compacted mixtures

The Role of Circulating Serotonin in the Development of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor in the development of age-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The serotonin transporter (SERT) gene polymorphism has been reported to be associated with COPD, and the degree of cigarette smoking has been shown to be a significant mediator in this relationship. The interrelation between circulating serotonin (5-hydroxytyptamine, 5-HT), cigarette smoking and COPD is however largely unknown. The current study aimed at investigating the mediation effects of plasma 5-HT on cigarette smoking-induced COPD and the relation between plasma 5-HT levels and age. METHODS: The association between plasma 5-HT, age and COPD was analyzed in a total of 62 COPD patients (ever-smokers) and 117 control subjects (healthy non-smokers and ever-smokers). Plasma 5-HT levels were measured by enzyme-linked immuno assay (EIA). RESULTS: The elevated plasma 5-HT levels were significantly associated with increased odds for COPD (OR = 1.221, 95% CI = 1.123 to 1.319, p<0.0001). The effect remained significant after being adjusted for age and pack-years smoked (OR = 1.271, 95% CI = 1.134 to 1.408, p = 0.0003). Furthermore, plasma 5-HT was found to mediate the relation between pack-years smoked and COPD. A positive correlation (r = 0.303, p = 0.017) was found between plasma 5-HT levels and age in COPD, but not in the control subjects (r = -0.149, p = 0.108). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that cigarette smoke-induced COPD is partially mediated by the plasma levels of 5-HT, and that these become elevated with increased age in COPD. The elevated plasma 5-HT levels in COPD might contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease.published_or_final_versio

Infection and wound breakdown in spontaneous second-degree perineal tears: An exploratory mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Perineal trauma affects large numbers of women who have a vaginal birth. This study explores the incidence, etiology and women's experiences of wound infection/breakdown associated with spontaneous second degree tears. METHODS: This was an exploratory mixed methods study set in an urban tertiary National Health Service hospital in 2014-2015. The study included a prospective observational study of second-degree tears using electronic patient records. Infection was defined using criteria adapted from Public Health England's Surgical Site Infection Surveillance Service. We also did a case-control study of maternity records to explore factors associated with perineal infection/wound breakdown, and semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of women who experienced wound infection/breakdown. RESULTS: Of 2892 vaginal births during the study period, 76.8% sustained perineal trauma, with second-degree tears most commonly recorded (n = 828/28.6%). Sixteen (1.9%) had a documented infection/wound breakdown which were associated with "compromised wound status" (increased severity of wound/poor suturing; P = 0.033) Women complained of a lack of information about their perineum and poor postnatal surveillance by midwives and physicians. Diagnosis and treatment were often delayed by clinicians' reliance on external signs of wound infection. Although the sample size was small, there were no differences in rates of infection between sutured and unsutured second-degree tears. CONCLUSIONS: Although second-degree tears were common after vaginal birth, wound infection/breakdown was relatively uncommon. Women who report feeling unwell or develop pyrexia postnatally should be assessed urgently. A prospective longitudinal study exploring the long-term sequelae of second-degree tears is needed

Evolving academic library specialties

The purpose of this review is to examine the shaping of librarianship in the academic context through the literature of career specialties, with Abbott's (1988) system of professions providing an analytic framework. The specialties investigated are systems librarian, electronic resource librarian, digital librarian, institutional repository manager, clinical librarian and informationist, digital curator/research data manager, teaching librarian/information literacy educator, and information and knowledge manager. Piecemeal literature based on job advertisements, surveys, and individual case studies is consolidated to offer a novel perspective on the evolution of the profession. The resilience of the profession's core jurisdiction is apparent despite pressures to erode it. Forays into teaching, and more recently into open access and data management, can be understood as responses to such pressure. The attractions but also the risks of embedded roles and overextended claims become apparent when comparing past and prospective specialties. © 2013 ASIS&T

Forest Biomass Density across Large Climate Gradients in Northern South America is related to Water Availability but not with Temperature

Understanding and predicting the likely response of ecosystems to climate change are crucial challenges for ecology and for conservation biology. Nowhere is this challenge greater than in the tropics as these forests store more than half the total atmospheric carbon stock in their biomass. Biomass is determined by the balance between biomass inputs (i.e., growth) and outputs (mortality). We can expect therefore that conditions that favor high growth rates, such as abundant water supply, warmth, and nutrient-rich soils will tend to correlate with high biomass stocks. Our main objective is to describe the patterns of above ground biomass (AGB) stocks across major tropical forests across climatic gradients in Northwestern South America. We gathered data from 200 plots across the region, at elevations ranging between 0 to 3400 m. We estimated AGB based on allometric equations and values for stem density, basal area, and wood density weighted by basal area at the plot-level. We used two groups of climatic variables, namely mean annual temperature and actual evapotranspiration as surrogates of environmental energy, and annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality, and water availability as surrogates of water availability. We found that AGB is more closely related to water availability variables than to energy variables. In northwest South America, water availability influences carbon stocks principally by determining stand structure, i.e. basal area. When water deficits increase in tropical forests we can expect negative impact on biomass and hence carbon storage

Comparative Genome Analysis of Filamentous Fungi Reveals Gene Family Expansions Associated with Fungal Pathogenesis

Fungi and oomycetes are the causal agents of many of the most serious diseases of plants. Here we report a detailed comparative analysis of the genome sequences of thirty-six species of fungi and oomycetes, including seven plant pathogenic species, that aims to explore the common genetic features associated with plant disease-causing species. The predicted translational products of each genome have been clustered into groups of potential orthologues using Markov Chain Clustering and the data integrated into the e-Fungi object-oriented data warehouse (http://www.e-fungi.org.uk/). Analysis of the species distribution of members of these clusters has identified proteins that are specific to filamentous fungal species and a group of proteins found only in plant pathogens. By comparing the gene inventories of filamentous, ascomycetous phytopathogenic and free-living species of fungi, we have identified a set of gene families that appear to have expanded during the evolution of phytopathogens and may therefore serve important roles in plant disease. We have also characterised the predicted set of secreted proteins encoded by each genome and identified a set of protein families which are significantly over-represented in the secretomes of plant pathogenic fungi, including putative effector proteins that might perturb host cell biology during plant infection. The results demonstrate the potential of comparative genome analysis for exploring the evolution of eukaryotic microbial pathogenesis

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development