Highway drainage as a component of metal input into the catchment

Highway runoff, as a nonpoint source, may exert significant pollutant load on the catchment. Finding ways to mitigate nonpoint sources of pollutants is a matter of great concern for improving water quality. It was cited by the Environment Agency in 2005 that more than 80% of English rivers were at risk of failing to achieve Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives through diffuse pollution (Faram, 2007; p.14). The presence and behaviour of metals were analysed and compared through seasonal sampling from one of the most trafficked roads in the Midlands, M1. These were compared with other sources: local streams and sewage works. The concentration of metals in stormwater from the M1, three neighbouring rural brooks and three local sewage works, all in the same catchment, were sampled. Three metals (Fe, Cu and Zn) were used as an indicator because of their predominance and potential harmful effect on biodiversity. The data was analysed to establish any links between the total and dissolved metals and standard water quality parameters. The thesis also examines the performance of a standard highway treatment system of interceptor and lagoon for removing metals. The results indicate that evaporation and de-icer salts had the strongest effect on metal concentrations and their solubility in the runoff from the M1. As additional factors, rainfall intensity and antecedent dry weather period (ADWP) had the most important influence on metal concentrations. Fe was always at the highest concentrations for all weather conditions (total and dissolved) and all sampling locations. The results also showed that Fe was affiliated with the particulate matter; however, it was also suggested that it was solubilised by anaerobic conditions. Zntot during wet weather exceeded the environmental quality standards (EQS) both on the M1 and in Woodbrook. The sewage work effluent did not exceed the EQS at any time of sampling. It was also found that Zn solubility was increased by the presence of de-icer salts which released it from the sediment by a process of ion-exchange, as suggested by the literature. Cu concentrations had the most erratic values and varied widely but were in the lowest concentrations compared to other metals. During wet weather Cudis from the M1 runoff exceeded the EQS. It was also concluded that the analytical and sample preservation methods chosen could have an effect on the concentrations of copper. Filtration with recycled glass and pea-gravel was able to remove particles down to 5 μm, but at the typical flow rate (5 m/hr), and solids loading the filters would need regular washing. The adsorption studies showed that metals are more effectively removed by alkaline conditions than acid conditions which release metals into the environment.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Delimitation of Some Taxa of Ulnaria and Fragilaria (Bacillariophyceae) Based on Genetic, Morphological Data and Mating Compatibility

Fragilaria and Ulnaria are two closely related diatom genera for which the delimitation and circumscription of several species is unclear. We studied strains isolated from Lake Baikal and compared them with the species from freshwater reservoirs in Europe and Asia using phylogenetic and species delimitation methods, microscopy and interclonal crossing experiments. The results of the phylogenetic analyses of the fragments of rbcL and 18S rRNA genes revealed that baikalian F. radians clade was independent from the representatives of the genus from other localities. Among Ulnaria we found the following 18S rRNA phylogenetic tree groups at species level: U. acus, U. ulna and U. danica. Genetic distance between genera varied between 3.9-10.2% substitutions in rbcL gene and 3.2-11.5% in 18S rRNA. The boundary between intraspecies and interspecies polymorphism for studied species of Ulnaria and Fragilaria in these marker genes was around 0.8% substitutions. Morphometric characters of individual strains showed their variability and division into F. radians, U. acus and U. ulna together with U. danica. Strains of U. acus and U. danica from different localities of Europe and Asia were sexually compatible inside the species. Sexual reproduction has never been observed in monoclonal cultures, either between this species or with strains of the Fragilaria

The Role of Polyamine-Dependent Facilitation of Calcium Permeable AMPARs in Short-Term Synaptic Enhancement

Depending on subunit composition AMPA receptor channels can be subdivided into two groups: GluA2-containing calcium impermeable AMPARs, and GluA2-lacking calcium permeable, AMPARs. These two groups differ in a number of biophysical properties and, most likely, in their functional role at glutamatergic synapses. GluA2-lacking channels have received a lot of attention over the last two decades mainly due to high calcium permeability, which was suggested to play a significant role in the induction of long-term synaptic plasticity in healthy tissue and neuronal death under neuropathological conditions. However, calcium permeable AMPARs possess another property that can contribute substantially to frequency dependent dynamics of synaptic efficacy. In the closed state calcium permeable AMPARs are blocked by endogenous polyamines, however, repetitive activation leads to progressive relief from the block and to the facilitation of ion flux through these channels. Polyamine-dependent facilitation of AMPARs can contribute to short-term plasticity at synapses that have high initial release probability and express calcium permeable AMPARs. During synaptic transmission activity-dependent relief from polyamine block of postsynaptic calcium-permeable AMPARs either counteracts presynaptic short-term depression in a frequency-dependent manner or, under specific stimulation conditions, induces facilitation of a synaptic response. Taking into account the fact that expression of calcium permeable AMPARs is developmentally regulated, depends on network activity and increases in diseased brain states, polyamine-dependent facilitation of calcium permeable AMPARs is an important, entirely postsynaptic mechanism of synaptic gain regulation

Validation and Completion of Initial Data of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Development Based on 3D Models

The validation of initial data is an important process to reduce the risk of errors in calculations. The large amount of heterogeneous data in the area of hydrocarbon reservoirs development leads to a significant increasing in complexity and calculation time of data validation. Here, we consider the problem of validation and completion of the initial data for the task of hydrocarbon reservoirs development. A validation and completion method, based on the use of 3D visual models and searching of analogies, is proposed. The results of testing the proposed method on the data of reservoirs of the Tomsk region of the Russian Federation are shown. The results showed that the time of the procedure of validation and completion of the initial data was reduced by 22.2% for projects of reserve calculation and by 32.2% for projects of development forecast in comparison with standard manual validation procedure. During the validation, experts identified 18% and 13.5% more errors with the proposed method for projects of reserve calculation and development forecast, respectively, showing that the proposed method could be an effective tool for data validation and completion

Layer specific development of neocortical pyramidal to fast spiking cell synapses

© 2016 Voinova, Valiullina, Zakharova, Mukhtarov, Draguhn and Rozov.All cortical neurons are engaged in inhibitory feedback loops which ensure excitation-inhibition balance and are key elements for the development of coherent network activity. The resulting network patterns are strongly dependent on the strength and dynamic properties of these excitatory-inhibitory loops which show pronounced regional and developmental diversity. Therefore we compared the properties and postnatal maturation of two different synapses between rat neocortical pyramidal cells (layer 2/3 and layer 5, respectively) and fast spiking (FS) intemeurons in the corresponding layer. At P14, both synapses showed synaptic depression upon repetitive activation. Synaptic release properties between layer 2/3 pyramidal cells and FS cells were stable from P14 to P28. In contrast, layer 5 pyramidal to FS cell connections showed a significant increase in paired pulse ratio by P28. Presynaptic calcium dynamics also changed at these synapses, including sensitivity to exogenously loaded calcium buffers and expression of presynaptic calcium channel subtypes. These results underline the large variety of properties at different, yet similar, synapses in the neocortex. They also suggest that postnatal maturation of the brain goes along with increasing differences between synaptically driven network activity in layer 5 and layer 2/3

Methodological efficiency of using virtual and augmented reality in the educational process

This article presents the results of an experiment on creating an electronic textbook for universities and programs of additional professional education using virtual and augmented reality technologies and evaluating the results of testing the textbook on the basis of the State University of Management. The topic of the electronic textbook concerns the organization of the security service of accommodation facilities. The authors provide a description of the electronic textbook, its structure, main interactive elements, the progress of work, talk about the difficulties that they encountered. The working group on the creation of the textbook included methodologists, psychologists, specialists from the security services of Moscow hotels and specialists in information technology. Teams of key developers - the State University of Management, the Lotte group of companies, the LLC ITRON limited liability company, and the Rusays Publishing House - worked in partnership. Conclusions are made about the possibilities of using virtual and augmented reality technologies in educational activities. Augmented reality technology is used to create a mobile application that displays educational materials with reference to real-life objects according to special markers. This technology allows you to make the textbook unique for a specific object (office, building, structure, landscape). The results of the training using an electronic participant are presented. The peculiarities of the psychological perception of educational material and the effectiveness of the new format of presentation of the educational environment are noted

Hybridizations of evolutionary algorithms with Large Neighborhood Search

Recent developments of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) for discrete optimization problems are often characterized by the hybridization of EAs with local search methods, in particular, with Large Neighborhood Search. In this survey, we consider some of the most promising directions of this kind of hybridization and provide examples in the context of well-known optimization problems. We distinguish different approaches by the algorithmic components in which they make use of Large Neighborhood Search: initialization, recombination and the local improvement stages of hybrid EAs

OSWALD SCHMIEDEBERG –THE “FATHER” OF EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY

Biography. Oswald Schmiedeberg (1838-1921) was a son of a bailiff and a maid of honour, the eldest of the six children in the family. He was born and educated in the Russian Empire. Scientific activity. All his life he was completely devoted to science, making experimental pharmacology an independent scientific discipline, and was able to bring it to the international level. O. Schmiedeberg studied the action of muscarine and nicotine, digitoxin, hypnotics and analeptics. He was the first to introduce the concept of “pharmacodynamics” and “pharmacokinetics” of a drug. With his participation, the world’s first pharmacological journal was founded, which is still published today. Science school. Working for many years at the University of Strasbourg, Schmiedeberg managed to educate about 120 students – professors from 20 countries of the world, many of whom later founded experimental pharmacology in their countries, for example, Abel in the USA, and N.P. Kravkov in Russia. Scientific activity of Schmiedeberg influenced scholars of his time and for generations to come, creating the preconditions for new high-profile discoveries and even for receiving Nobel prizes. But Oswald Schmiedeberg failed to obtain this high award himself, though he had been nominated 14 times

<i>In vitro</i> study of the effect of <i>Bifidobacterium bifidum </i> probiotic strain DNA on the cell concentration and colonization properties of intestinal microsymbionts

Aim. To estimate in vitro the effect of DNA isolated from the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium bifidum 791 on the cell concentration and adhesive properties of fecal isolates of bifidobacteria and opportunistic microorganisms of different species.Materials and methods. DNA was isolated from the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium bifidum 791. Biomass containing bifidobacteria was washed from the nutrient medium. The suspension of bacteria in the buffer solution was subjected to ultrasonic disintegration with a frequency of 40 kHz three times for 30 minutes, followed by centrifugation. The supernatants were combined and purified chromatographically on CL-4B Sepharose. B. breve, B. bifidum, B. infantis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli lac-, Enterococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans were used as test cultures, isolated from the intestines of conditionally healthy adults. Results. The nucleic acid solution with a concentration of 3.54 |jg/ml did not affect the cell number of bifidobacteria (p = 0.61). The DNA content in the solution of 14.15-21.23 jg/ml increased the titers of B. bifidum and B. breve by 2 lg CFU/ml compared to the control (p = 0.01), but did not affect the titers of S. aureus, E. coli lac-, E. faecalis, C. albicans (p = 0.73). The DNA solution stimulated the self-aggregation of bifidobacteria in 1.5-2.0 times. The ability to autoaggregate under the influence of bifidobacterial DNA in S. aureus, E. faecalis, C. albicans did not change, in E. coli lacincreased 2.3 times (p = 0.05).Conclusion. A DNA solution of the probiotic strain B. bifidum 791 with a content 14.15-21.23 jg/ml stimulates the reproduction and autoaggregation of fecal B. breve, B. bifidum