A mechanistic-empirical based overlay design method for reflective cracking

This paper describes a new and innovative mechanistically based pavement overlay design method that considers the most predominant type of overlay distress observed in the field: Reflective cracking above old cracks in the underlying pavement surface. Both dense-graded hot mix asphalt and gap-graded asphalt rubber (wet process) mixes were studied, in the laboratory and in the field, to derive the necessary mechanistic relationships and statistically based equations. The models proposed are based on a finite element model that closely approximates actual field phenomena. Many field test sections, in Arizona, California and Portugal, were studied during the course of the research. Other HMA mixes used for overlays may also be calibrated and used through the proposed method. However, the relevant mix properties of any additional materials or environmental zones must first be determined. The two mix types studied are mainly used in the desert southwest region of Arizona and California. The overlay design program is available from the Rubber Pavements Association or Arizona Department of Transportation in the form of an Excel spreadsheet with an easy-to-use visual basic computer program (macro)

KSHV-TK is a tyrosine kinase that disrupts focal adhesions and induces Rho-mediated cell contraction.

This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.15252/embj.201490358/abstract.Paradoxically, the thymidine kinase (TK) encoded by Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an extremely inefficient nucleoside kinase, when compared to TKs from related herpesviruses. We now show that KSHV-TK, in contrast to HSV1-TK, associates with the actin cytoskeleton and induces extensive cell contraction followed by membrane blebbing. These dramatic changes in cell morphology depend on the auto-phosphorylation of tyrosines 65, 85 and 120 in the N-terminus of KSHV-TK. Phosphorylation of tyrosines 65/85 and 120 results in an interaction with Crk family proteins and the p85 regulatory subunit of PI3-Kinase, respectively. The interaction of Crk with KSHV-TK leads to tyrosine phoshorylation of this cellular adaptor. Auto-phosphorylation of KSHV-TK also induces a loss of FAK and paxillin from focal adhesions, resulting in activation of RhoA-ROCK signalling to myosin II and cell contraction. In the absence of FAK or paxillin, KSHV-TK has no effect on focal adhesion integrity or cell morphology. Our observations demonstrate that by acting as a tyrosine kinase, KSHV-TK modulates signalling and cell morphology.This work was supported by Medical Research Council grant G0701185 to PGS and MBG. M.W is supported by Cancer Research UK

Preliminary Evidence That CD38 Moderates the Association of Neuroticism on Amygdala-Subgenual Cingulate Connectivity.

CD38 genetic variation has been associated with autism spectrum disorders and social anxiety disorder, which may result from CD38's regulation of oxytocin secretion. Converging evidence has found that the rs3796863 A-allele contributes to increased social sensitivity compared to the CC genotype. The current study examined the moderating role of CD38 genetic variants (rs3796863 and rs6449182) that have been associated with enhanced (or reduced) social sensitivity on neural activation related to neuroticism, which is commonly elevated in individuals with social anxiety and depression. Adults (n = 72) with varying levels of social anxiety and depression provided biological samples for DNA extraction, completed a measure of neuroticism, and participated in a standardized emotion processing task (affect matching) while undergoing fMRI. A significant interaction effect was found for rs3796863 x neuroticism that predicted right amygdala-subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) functional connectivity. Simple slopes analyses showed a positive association between neuroticism and right amygdala-sgACC connectivity among rs3796863 A-allele carriers. Findings suggest that the more socially sensitive rs3796863 A-allele may partially explain the relationship between a known risk factor (i.e. neuroticism) and promising biomarker (i.e. amygdala-sgACC connectivity) in the development and maintenance of social anxiety and depression

Differential expression of secreted factors SOSTDC1 and ADAMTS8 cause pro-fibrotic changes in linear morphoea fibroblasts

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Badshah, I. I., et al. "Differential expression of secreted factors SOSTDC1 and ADAMTS8 cause pro-fibrotic changes in linear morphoea fibroblasts." British Journal of Dermatology 0(ja)., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.17352. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsFunding: RO, IB and SB are funded by the Great Ormond Street Children's Charity. This research was supported by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centr

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

Tides on Other Earths: Implications for Exoplanet and Palaeo-Tidal Simulations

A key controller of a planet's rotational evolution, and hence habitability, is tidal dissipation, which on Earth is dominated by the ocean tides. Because exoplanet or deep‐time Earth topographies are unknown, a statistical ensemble is used to constrain possible tidal dissipation rates on an Earth‐like planet. A dedicated tidal model is used together with 120 random continental configurations to simulate Earth's semidiurnal lunar tide. The results show a possible ocean tidal dissipation range spanning 3 orders of magnitude, between 2.3 GWto 1.9 TW (1 TW=1012 W). When model resolution is considered, this compares well with theoretical limits derived for the energetics of Earth's present‐day deep ocean. Consequently, continents exert a fundamental control on tidal dissipation rates and we suggest that plate tectonics on a planet will induce a time‐varying dissipation analogous to Earth's. This will alter rotational periods over millions of years and further complicate the role of tides for planetary evolution. Plain Language Summary The daylength of a planet is key for habitability because it regulates the rate with which solar radiation is received and redistributed at the surface. A main controller of a planet's daylength is the ocean tide, because the dissipation of tidal energy works as a brake on the planet's spin, increasing the daylength. Tides are sensitive to the continental arrangement on a planet, but there are no details of the surface of any exoplanet and only limited information of what Earth looked like in the distant past. The change in Earth's daylength forces the Moon to recede into a higher orbit, but the present‐day recession rate is very high and does not fit our age models of the moon, implying that the tides must have been much weaker in the distant past. Here, we use a series of tidal predictions for random continental configurations of Earth to provide a range of tidal dissipation rates and thus an estimate of how the tides in the deep past may have evolved as Earth's continents grew more and more complex. This research also provides a range of dissipation rates that can be used for simulations of the rotational and orbital evolution of exoplanets

Midwives' views towards women's use of mHealth and eHealth to self-monitor their pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature

Introduction There are many mobile telephone apps to help women self-monitor aspects of pregnancy and maternal health. This literature review aims to: 1) understand midwives’ perspectives on women self-monitoring their pregnancy using eHealth and mHealth, and 2) establish gaps in research. Methods MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and PsycINFO were systematically searched on midwifery, eHealth/mHealth and perspectives. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies published in English were considered for inclusion in the review, without geographical limitations. Relevant articles were critically appraised and narrative synthesis was conducted. Results Twelve relevant papers covering midwives’ perspectives of the use of eHealth and mHealth by pregnant women were obtained for inclusion in this review. Seven of these publications focused on midwives' views of eHealth, and five on their perspectives of mHealth interventions. The studies included demonstrate that midwives generally hold ambivalent views towards the use of eHealth and mHealth technologies in antenatal care. Often, midwives acknowledged the potential benefits of such technologies, such as their ability to modernise antenatal care and to help women make more informed decisions about their pregnancy. However, midwives were quick to point out the risks and limitations of these, such as the accuracy of conveyed information, and negative impacts on the patient-professional relationship. Conclusions Post-COVID-19 where technology is continuously developing, there is a compelling need for studies that investigate the role of eHealth and mHealth in self-monitoring pregnancy, and the consequences this has for pregnant women, health professionals and organisations as well as midwifery curricula

Two novel approaches for photometric redshift estimation based on SDSS and 2MASS databases

We investigate two training-set methods: support vector machines (SVMs) and Kernel Regression (KR) for photometric redshift estimation with the data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 and Two Micron All Sky Survey databases. We probe the performances of SVMs and KR for different input patterns. Our experiments show that the more parameters considered, the accuracy doesn't always increase, and only when appropriate parameters chosen, the accuracy can improve. Moreover for different approaches, the best input pattern is different. With different parameters as input, the optimal bandwidth is dissimilar for KR. The rms errors of photometric redshifts based on SVM and KR methods are less than 0.03 and 0.02, respectively. Finally the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches are summarized. Compared to other methods of estimating photometric redshifts, they show their superiorities, especially KR, in terms of accuracy.Comment: accepted for publication in ChJA