69 research outputs found
Waste Water Transformed into Heat Energy
This study investigates the feasibility of utilising ground water ingress into the Glasgow Subway system. At present this unused excess water is being discharged into the cityâs drainage system as waste. This valuable resource could be channelled through a Water Source Heat Pump (WSHP) to produce heat energy for domestic or public use (heating and domestic hot water).
A study has been carried out in order to calculate the heat contained in the water. Water flow and water temperature have been recorded over a ten month period (since May 2014) at fifteen different points within the network of underground tunnels. Water sampling has also been undertaken at all of these points, with chemical analysis results for six of them already obtained. The measurements will continue for at least seven more months to have readings for an 18 months period. A feasibility study to review the number of support factors (i.e. Renewable Heat Incentive) that could profit the subway system has been undertaken as well.
Options have been discussed and a selection of a site inside the tunnels for a pilot system has been decided and is due to be installed in June 2015.
The findings of this study are expected to develop an appropriate renewable solution through a cost effective heat pump system design. This waste water will be collected and used as renewable energy. During this process energy will be produced from a waste product using a sustainable and environmental friendly method. A similar approach ought to be transferable to many other subway systems around the world, some of which experience ground water ingress
Heat recovery from air in underground transport tunnels
The performance of a typical air source heat pump could be increased dramatically by a relatively stable air temperature with a high humidity, even during the peak heating months. In this short communication we show such conditions exist in the underground transport tunnels of the Glasgow Subway system, where we had conducted an annual survey of air flow, air temperature and relative humidity at thirty different points within the subway network. We found relatively stable temperatures and sufficient air movement inside the twin tunnels (average temperature during winter = 15 °C, annual variation = 2.6 °C; average air flow = 16.47 m3/h) indicating higher system efficiency compared to a conventional air source heat pump installation. Potential energy and carbon savings are discussed
Patient-led functional genomics identifies novel drivers of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a rare and universally lethal
malignancy arising in the liver. Incidence has steadily been increasing globally yet
effective therapeutics are lacking. Currently, gold standard treatment is complete
resection for which a minority of patients are suitable and recurrence rates post
resection are high. For the majority of patients unsuitable for surgery, standard
chemotherapeutic options extend life by only 3-6 months on average. As such there
is a pressing need to elucidate the genetic and molecular features of this
malignancy so as to inform the development of more effective therapies. To date, a
small but robust set of driver genes have been discovered and for some targeted
therapies in development, with mixed results in clinical trials.
This work aimed to extend the set of known driver genes by exploring the long tail
of infrequently mutated genes in patient sequencing data. Through computational
prediction and in vivo screening, a set of driver genes were uncovered which
cooperate with the more commonly encountered oncogenic RASG12 isoforms of
KRAS and NRAS. Validation studies in vivo confirmed that the membrane
cytoskeleton adaptor protein Merlin, encoded by NF2, and the canonical
transmembrane semaphorin receptor PLXNB2 encoded by PLXNB2 are tumour
suppressors occurring at low frequency in the patient population. Mutation of
these genes significantly accelerated disease progression and propagated
aggressive, invasive tumour phenotypes
Intrathecal Fentanyl With a Paracervical Block Is Safe and Effective for Elective Termination of Pregnancy in a Patient With Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in pregnancy, irrespective of etiology, is associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. This case describes a novel approach to providing anesthesia for a hemodynamically fragile patient. It demonstrates the careful planning and weighted decision-making that is required when approaching a parturient with severe pulmonary hypertension. The patient\u27s previous pulmonary artery catheterization showed right ventricular systolic pressure of 78 mmHg and pulmonary artery pressure of 78/20 mmHg. The patient presented with worsening dyspnea and a decision was made to proceed with the termination of pregnancy via dilatation and curettage (D&C). Anesthesia was conducted with combined intrathecal fentanyl with a paracervical block using lidocaine 2%. The patient had a complication of post-procedure hemorrhage secondary to uterine atony that required careful monitoring and judicious use of uterotonic medications. A decision was made to use oxytocin due to its favorable effect profile compared to other uterotonic medications. We hope this anesthesia technique will aid in the future management of these challenging cases
Making Sense of a New Transport System: An Ethnographic Study of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
An increase in public transport use has the potential to contribute to improving population health, and there is growing interest in innovative public transport systems. Yet how new public transport infrastructure is experienced and integrated (or not) into daily practice is little understood. We investigated how the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, UK, was used and experienced in the weeks following its opening, using the method of participant observation (travelling on the busway and observing and talking to passengers) and drawing on Normalization Process Theory to interpret our data. Using excerpts of field notes to support our interpretations, we describe how the ease with which the new transport system could be integrated into existing daily routines was important in determining whether individuals would continue to use it. It emerged that there were two groups of passengers with different experiences and attitudes. Passengers who had previously travelled frequently on regular bus services did not perceive the new system to be an improvement; consequently, they were frustrated that it was differentiated from and not coherent with the regular system. In contrast, passengers who had previously travelled almost exclusively by car appraised the busway positively and perceived it to be a novel and superior form of travel. Our rich qualitative account highlights the varied and creative ways in which people learn to use new public transport and integrate it into their everyday lives. This has consequences for the introduction and promotion of future transport innovations. It is important to emphasise the novelty of new public transport, but also the ways in which its use can become ordinary and routine. Addressing these issues could help to promote uptake of other public transport interventions, which may contribute to increasing physical activity and improving population health. Š 2013 Jones et al
Molecular Gas in the z=1.2 Ultraluminous Merger GOODS J123634.53+621241.3
We report the detection of CO(2-1) emission from the z=1.2 ultraluminous
infrared galaxy (ULIRG) GOODS J123634.53+621241.3 (also known as the
sub-millimeter galaxy GN26). These observations represent the first discovery
of high-redshift CO emission using the new Combined Array for Research in
Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA). Of all high-redshift (z>1) galaxies within
the GOODS-North field, this source has the largest far-infrared (FIR) flux
observed in the Spitzer 70um and 160um bands. The CO redshift confirms the
optical identification of the source, and the bright CO(2-1) line suggests the
presence of a large molecular gas reservoir of about 7x10^10 M(sun). The
infrared-to-CO luminosity ratio of L(IR)/L'(CO) = 80+/-30 L(sun) (K Km/s
pc^2)^-1 is slightly smaller than the average ratio found in local ULIRGs and
high-redshift sub-millimeter galaxies. The short star-formation time scale of
about 70 Myr is consistent with a starburst associated with the merger event
and is much shorter than the time scales for spiral galaxies and estimates made
for high-redshift galaxies selected on the basis of their B-z and z-K colors.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
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Orbitofrontal cortex mediates pain inhibition by monetary reward
Pleasurable stimuli, including reward, inhibit pain, but the level of the neuraxis at which they do so and the cerebral
processes involved are unknown. Here, we characterized a brain circuitry mediating pain inhibition by reward. Twenty-four
healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while playing a wheel of fortune game with simultaneous thermal pain stimuli and monetary wins or losses. As expected, winning decreased pain perception compared to
losing. Inter-individual differences in pain modulation by monetary wins relative to losses correlated with activation in the
medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). When pain and reward occured simultaneously, mOFCs functional connectivity
changed: the signal time course in the mOFC condition-dependent correlated negatively with the signal time courses in the
rostral anterior insula, anterior-dorsal cingulate cortex and primary somatosensory cortex, which might signify momentto-moment down-regulation of these regions by the mOFC. Monetary wins and losses did not change the magnitude of
pain-related activation, including in regions that code perceived pain intensity when nociceptive input varies and/or receive
direct nociceptive input. Pain inhibition by reward appears to involve brain regions not typically involved in nociceptive intensity coding but likely mediate changes in the significance and/or value of pain
In vivo modeling of patient genetic heterogeneity identifies new ways to target cholangiocarcinoma.
L. Boulter was funded by The Wellcome Trust (207793/Z/17/Z), AMMF (2016/108, 2017/115), and Cancer Research UK (C52499/A27948). L. Boulter is also supported by an MRC university grant to the MRC Human Genetics Unit
Senolytic treatment preserves biliary regenerative capacity lost through cellular senescence during cold storage
Liver transplantation is the only curative option for patients with end-stage liver disease. Despite improvements in surgical techniques, nonanastomotic strictures (characterized by the progressive loss of biliary tract architecture) continue to occur after liver transplantation, negatively affecting liver function and frequently leading to graft loss and retransplantation. To study the biological effects of organ preservation before liver transplantation, we generated murine models that recapitulate liver procurement and static cold storage. In these models, we explored the response of cholangiocytes and hepatocytes to cold storage, focusing on responses that affect liver regeneration, including DNA damage, apoptosis, and cellular senescence. We show that biliary senescence was induced during organ retrieval and exacerbated during static cold storage, resulting in impaired biliary regeneration. We identified decoy receptor 2 (DCR2)âdependent responses in cholangiocytes and hepatocytes, which differentially affected the outcome of those populations during cold storage. Moreover, CRISPR-mediated DCR2 knockdown in vitro increased cholangiocyte proliferation and decreased cellular senescence but had the opposite effect in hepatocytes. Using the p21KO model to inhibit senescence onset, we showed that biliary tract architecture was better preserved during cold storage. Similar results were achieved by administering senolytic ABT737 to mice before procurement. Last, we perfused senolytics into discarded human donor livers and showed that biliary architecture and regenerative capacities were better preserved. Our results indicate that cholangiocytes are susceptible to senescence and identify the use of senolytics and the combination of senotherapies and machine-perfusion preservation to prevent this phenotype and reduce the incidence of biliary injury after transplantation.This work was supported by the UK Medical Research MRC (MR/K017047/1) (to S.J.F.), the Computational and Chemical Biology of Stem Cell Niche (MR/L012766/1) (to S.J.F.), the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform (MR/K026666/1) (to S.J.F.), and the Wellcome Trust Institutional Translational Partnership Award (WT iTPA) (to S.F.-G.). J.M.B. was supported by the Spanish Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) (PI15/01132, PI18/01075, and Miguel Servet Program CON14/00129 and CPII19/00008) cofinanced by âFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regionalâ (FEDER); âInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIâ (CIBERehd), Spain; âEuskadi RIS3â (2019222054 and 2020333010); and the Department of Industry of the Basque Country (Elkartek: KK-2020/00008). This research was funded in whole or in part by The Wellcome Trust (grant number 209710/Z/17/Z), a cOAlition S organization
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