Retrofitting the UK’s half-timbered heritage

Retrofitting historic timber-framed buildings is a complex challenge, but one which must be addressed in order to ensure the future of a large part of the UK’s housing stoc

Estimating the Capital Recovery Costs of Alternative Patch Retention Treatments in Eastern Hardwoods

We used a simulation model to estimate the economic opportunity costs and the density of large stems retained for patch retention in two temperate oak stands representative of the oak/hickory forest type in the eastern United States. Opportunity/retention costs ranged from $321.0 to$760.7/ha [$129.9 to$307.8/acre] depending on the species mix in the stand, the logging technology used, and rotation lengths. The resulting capital recovery costs ranged from $12.8 to$30.4/ha/year [$5.2 to$12.3/acre/year] depending on the degree of retention desired, the logging technology used, and the species composition of the tract. Opportunity/capital recovery costs are greatest in stands that have high-value species mix, are harvested with low-cost logging technologies, and/or managed on longer rotations. The approach described in this paper can be used to help forest landowners, managers, loggers, and other decision/policy makers understand the opportunity/capital recovery costs and ecological benefits associated with patch retention

Retrofitting the UK’s half-timbered heritage

Retrofitting historic timber-framed buildings is a complex challenge, but one which must be addressed in order to ensure the future of a large part of the UK’s housing stoc

Surgical Transplantation of Mouse Neural Stem Cells into the Spinal Cords of Mice Infected with Neurotropic Mouse Hepatitis Virus

Mice infected with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) develop pathological and clinical outcomes similar to patients with the demyelinating disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We have shown that transplantation of NSCs into the spinal cords of sick mice results in a significant improvement in both remyelination and in clinical outcome. Cell replacement therapies for the treatment of chronic neurologic diseases are now a reality and in vivo models are vital in understanding the interactions between the engrafted cells and host tissue microenvironment. This presentation provides an adapted method for transplanting cells into the spinal cord of JHMV-infected mice. In brief, we provide a procedure for i) preparation of NSCs prior to transplant, ii) pre-operative care of mice, iii) exposure of the spinal cord via laminectomy, iv) stereotactic injection of NSCs, and iv) post-operative care

Hygrothermal monitoring of replacement infill panels for historic timber-frame buildings: initial findings

Energy retrofits aim to improve the thermal performance of buildings’ external envelopes. With buildings of traditional construction there exists the risk that these improvements may lead to interstitial condensation and moisture accumulation. For historic timber-framed buildings, this potentially exposes the embedded historic timbers to conditions favouring fungal decay and insect infestation. Hygrothermal digital simulations can assess this risk, but these have limitations, especially regarding the study of historic and traditional materials, due to a lack of accurate material data. The research presented in this paper therefore uses the monitoring of physical test panels to examine the performance of four different infill solutions. These are, traditional wattle and daub, a composite of wood fibre and wood wool boards, expanded cork board, and hempcrete. The article focuses on the design and construction of the test cell and presents initial results from the first year of monitoring, following the initial drying phase. These showed no evidence of interstitial condensation in any of the panel build-ups, with increases in moisture content correlating directly with climatic measurements of wind-driven rain. Infill materials with low moisture permeability were seen to produce higher moisture contents at the interface with the external render due to the concentration of moisture at this point. Those panels finished in the more moisture permeable lime-hemp plaster, overall present lower moisture contents, with reduced drying times. The use of perimeter, non-moisture permeable, sealants would appear to potentially trap moisture at the junction between infill and historic timber-frame. The monitoring work is ongoing

The Diverse Bacterial Community in Intertidal, Anaerobic Sediments at Sapelo Island, Georgia

The phylogenetic diversity and composition of the bacterial community in anaerobic sediments from Sapelo Island, GA, USA were examined using 16S rRNA gene libraries. The diversity of this community was comparable to that of soil, and 1,186 clones formed 817 OTUs at 99% sequence similarity. Chao1 estimators for the total richness were also high, at 3,290 OTUs at 99% sequence similarity. The program RDPquery was developed to assign clones to taxonomic groups based upon comparisons to the RDP database. While most clones could be assigned to describe phyla, fewer than 30% of the clones could be assigned to a described order. Similarly, nearly 25% of the clones were only distantly related (<90% sequence similarity) to other environmental clones, illustrating the unique composition of this community. One quarter of the clones were related to one or more undescribed orders within the γ-Proteobacteria. Other abundant groups included the δ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria. While these phyla were abundant in other estuarine sediments, the specific members at Sapelo Island appeared to be different from those previously described in other locations, suggesting that great diversity exists between as well as within estuarine intertidal sediments. In spite of the large differences in pore water chemistry with season and depth, differences in the bacterial community were modest over the temporal and spatial scales examined and generally restricted to only certain taxa