Urban stormwater quality: A review of methods for continuous field monitoring

Urban stormwater is contaminated by a wide range of substances whose concentrations vary greatly between locations, as well as between and during rain events. This literature review evaluates advantages and limitations of current methods for using continuous water quality monitoring for stormwater characterization and control. High-temporal-resolution measurements have been used to improve the understanding of stormwater quality dynamics and pollutant pathways, facilitate the performance evaluation of stormwater control measures and improve operation of the urban drainage system with real-time control. However, most sensors used to study stormwater were developed for either centralized water treatment or natural water contexts and adaptation is necessary. At present, the primary application of interest in stormwater - characterization of pollutant concentrations - can only be achieved through the use of indirect measurements with site-specific relationships of pollutants to basic physical-chemical parameters. In addition, various problems arise in the field context, associated with intermittent or variable flow rates, the accumulation of debris and sediment, adverse conditions for electrical equipment and human factors. Obtaining reliable continuous stormwater quality data requires the adoption of best practices, including the calibration and regular maintenance of sensors, verification of data and accounting for the considerable uncertainties in data; however, the literature review showed that improvement is needed among the scientific community in implementing and documenting these practices.

'A medical case history … ': Huntington's disease and psychiatry

An important insight arising from the work of Michel Foucault is greater attention to the ways medical science produces subjects. In the case of Huntington's disease, the subjectivity produced has historically been constructed as dysfunctional and threatening, while the subjectivity of the researcher was unscrutinised. This paper describes a Foucauldian analysis of 20th century medical and social scientific literature on the social consequences of Huntington's disease. It identifies three features of Huntington's disease as central to its discursive construction: its genetic transmission pattern, its age of onset and its behavioural symptoms. These qualities, converted into medical and psychiatric knowledge, facilitated the absorption of Huntington's disease into eugenicist discourse, a connection reflected throughout the literature. Through various techniques of power, especially genetic pedigrees, and the normalised appropriation and exploitation of patients' identities and data within psychiatry, affected individuals were subjectified as contaminated and threatening, and implicated in the intergenerational transmission of social dysfunction.

Ion Heating and Flow Driven by an Instability Found in Plasma Couette Flow

We present the first observation of instability in weakly magnetized, pressure dominated plasma Couette flow firmly in the Hall regime. Strong Hall currents couple to a low frequency electromagnetic mode that is driven by high-β (>1) pressure profiles. Spectroscopic measurements show heating (factor of 3) of the cold, unmagnetized ions via a resonant Landau damping process. A linear theory of this instability is derived that predicts positive growth rates at finite β and shows the stabilizing effect of very large β, in line with observations.

Laboratory Resolved Structure of Supercritical Perpendicular Shocks

Supermagnetosonic perpendicular flows are magnetically driven by a large radius theta-pinch experiment. Fine spatial resolution and macroscopic coverage allow the full structure of the plasma-piston coupling to be resolved in laboratory experiment for the first time. A moving ambipolar potential is observed to reflect unmagnetized ions to twice the piston speed. Magnetized electrons balance the radial potential via Hall currents and generate signature quadrupolar magnetic fields. Electron heating in the reflected ion foot is adiabatic.

Weakly Magnetized, Hall Dominated Plasma Couette Flow

A novel plasma equilibrium in the high-β, Hall regime that produces centrally peaked, high Mach number Couette flow is described. Flow is driven using a weak, uniform magnetic field and large, cross field currents. Large magnetic field amplification (factor 20) due to the Hall effect is observed when electrons are flowing radially inward, and near perfect field expulsion is observed when the flow is reversed. A dynamic equilibrium is reached between the amplified (removed) field and extended density gradients.

A spectrometer for high-precision ion temperature and velocity measurements in low-temperature plasmas

We have developed a low-cost spectrometer with simple optical design that achieves unprecedented precision measurements of ion temperature (±0.01 eV) and velocity (±20 m/s). A Fabry-Pérot étalon provides the simultaneous high resolving power and high throughput needed for the light levels available in singly ionized helium and argon plasmas. Reducing the systematic uncertainty in the absolute wavelength calibration needed for the specified velocity precision motivates a Bayesian analysis method called Nested Sampling to address the nontrivial uncertainty in the diffraction order. An initial emission measurement of a singly charged stationary argon plasma yields a temperature of 0.339 ± 0.007 eV and a velocity of -3 ± 4 m/s with a systematic uncertainty of 20 m/s.

Effects of treatment of preweaning dairy calves with recombinant bovine somatotropin on immune responses and somatotropic axis

Weaning may be associated with negative energy balance and body weight loss when calves are still immunologically immature, predisposing them to infectious diseases. The aim of the present experiment was to investigate the effects of treatment of preweaning dairy calves with recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) on the somatotropic axis, selected immune parameters, and hematology of calves around weaning. Thirty-six Holstein female calves were randomly assigned to receive 1.5 to 1.8 mg of rbST (Posilac, Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN) per kilogram of body weight or to receive injections of saline (saline solution 0.9%, Valley Vet Supply, Marysville, KS) every 7 d from 21 to 63 d of life. Calves were fed milk replacer ad libitum from birth to 38 d of age (d -11), when progressive weaning started, and calves were weaned at 49 d of age (d 0). Calves were weighed at birth and weekly from 21 to 63 d of age, when wither height also was measured. Calves were vaccinated with 0.5 mg of ovalbumin on study d -28 and -7. Blood samples were collected on d -28, -25, -21, -11, 0, 3, 7, and 14. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes were isolated and challenged ex vivo with Escherichia coli to determine phagocytosis and oxidative burst capacity. Additionally, expression of cluster of differentiation (CD)62L and CD18 by granulocyte, lymphocyte, and CD14+ monocyte were determined. Blood samples were also used to determine hematological parameters and concentrations of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin, glucose, fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, haptoglobin, and anti-ovalbumin IgG. Calves treated with rbST had greater concentrations of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 from d -25 to 14 than control calves, whereas insulin, fatty acid, and β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations did not differ. On d -11, glucose concentration was greater for rbST-treated calves. Treatment did not affect polymorphonuclear lymphocyte phagocytosis and oxidative burst, but intensity of expression of CD62L and CD18 by granulocytes tended to be increased by rbST treatment. Treatment did not affect the concentration of anti-ovalbumin IgG in serum. Haptoglobin concentration was reduced in rbST treated calves on d 3 and we noted a tendency for hematocrit to be lower in rbST-treated calves. Treatment did not affect body weight, wither height, and average daily gain, despite the fact that rbST-treated calves had lower daily milk replacer intake. The relatively minor improvements in immune responses resulting from rbST treatment of weaning calves may not be sufficient to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases.

Experimental Demonstration of the Collisionless Plasmoid Instability below the Ion Kinetic Scale during Magnetic Reconnection

The spontaneous formation of magnetic islands is observed in driven, antiparallel magnetic reconnection on the Terrestrial Reconnection Experiment. We here provide direct experimental evidence that the plasmoid instability is active at the electron scale inside the ion diffusion region in a low collisional regime. The experiments show the island formation occurs at a smaller system size than predicted by extended magnetohydrodynamics or fully collisionless simulations. This more effective seeding of magnetic islands emphasizes their importance to reconnection in naturally occurring 3D plasmas.

Simple Nuclear Structure in (111-129)Cd from Atomic Isomer Shifts

Isomer shifts have been determined in ^{111-129}Cd by high-resolution laser spectroscopy at CERN-ISOLDE. The corresponding mean square charge-radii changes, from the 1/2^{+} and the 3/2^{+} ground states to the 11/2^{-} isomers, have been found to follow a distinct parabolic dependence as a function of the atomic mass number. Since the isomers have been previously associated with simplicity due to the linear mass dependence of their quadrupole moments, the regularity of the isomer shifts suggests a higher order of symmetry affecting the ground states in addition. A comprehensive description assuming nuclear deformation is found to accurately reproduce the radii differences in conjunction with the known quadrupole moments. This intuitive interpretation is supported by covariant density functional theory.

Dendritic cell CD83 homotypic interactions regulate inflammation and promote mucosal homeostasis

Dendritic cells (DCs) form an extensive network in the intestinal lamina propria, which orchestrates the mucosal immune response. Alterations in DC function can predispose to inflammatory bowel disease, although by unknown mechanisms. We show that CD83, a highly regulated DC cell surface protein, modulates the immune response to prevent colitis. Mice with a conditional knockout of CD83 in DCs develop exacerbated colitis following dextran sodium sulfate challenge, whereas mucosal overexpression of CD83 inhibits DC inflammatory response and protects against colitis. These CD83 perturbations can be modeled in vitro where we show that CD83 homotypic interaction occurs via cell-cell contact and inhibits pro-inflammatory responses. CD83 knockdown or cytoplasmic truncation abrogates the effects of homotypic binding. We demonstrate that CD83 homotypic interaction regulates DC activation via the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway by inhibiting p38α phosphorylation. Our findings indicate that CD83 homotypic interactions regulate DC activation and promote mucosal homeostasis.

Building the evidence for dedicated education unit sustainability and partnership success

AIM

To evaluate the sustainability of dedicated education units (DEUs) within an academic-service partnership.

BACKGROUND

A two-year, multisite, mixed-methods study with a randomized control trial was designed to isolate the effects of the DEU innovation on clinical education quality, teaching capacity, work life, and productivity.

METHOD

Interview data from 34 participants were analyzed for interactions and behaviors that indicated sustainability.

RESULTS

Seven themes portrayed successful participant interactions, revealing shifting roles based on mutual respect and collaboration among engaged partners working within complex adaptive systems. Relationship building and partnership achievements were confirmed as key components in DEU sustainability.

CONCLUSION

Sustainable, mature clinical education partnerships depend on implementing routinizing, reinforcing, recognizing, and rewarding activities. Unit level success relies on foundational structures that support the ongoing development of DEU clinical instructors. DEU sustainability will depend on the continual creation of new meaning for participants and the generation of new resources and results.

Pneumococcal meningitis and etanercept—chance or association?

Rheumatoid arthritis is a severe deforming chronic disease which has major implications for mortality and quality of life. Agents with anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) activity are a new modality of therapy, which can significantly reduce the acute inflammation in this condition. However, TNFalpha is a cytokine involved in initiating the protective immune response; consequently, patients receiving this therapy are at increased risk of infection. Etanercept is a recombinant form of the p75 TNF receptor (TNF-RII) dimerised by fusion with a portion of the human IgG1 Fc tail with anti-TNFalpha activity. We report the first case of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis who developed pneumococcal meningitis whilst on etanercept, suggesting a possible association between etanercept and this severe life threatening infection.

DNA-based vaccines for malaria: a heterologous prime-boost immunisation strategy

A generic approach to inducing high level CD8+ T cell responses would be of value for prophylactic and therapeutic immunisation against several infectious diseases. However, it has been very difficult to achieve such immune responses using available vaccination strategies. Malaria is one of several diseases against which a new generation of better CD8+ T cell-inducing vaccines might be useful and is unusual in that it allows assessment of vaccine efficacy in small numbers of volunteers in carefully controlled challenge studies. Here we review the identification of a heterologous prime-boost regime using DNA priming and recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) boosting that induces high level T cell responses in both mice and non-human primates. Clinical trials to determine whether this prime-boost approach is immunogenic in humans are in progress.

Ensuring the best interest of the child in intercountry adoption practice: case studies from the United Kingdom and the United States

Each year, thousands of children who cross international borders are destined for homes with adoptive families. For most, this journey from their homeland brings them to loving new homes where they will thrive and prosper. For others, the journey is hazardous and the destination uncertain.

Preoperative assessment: safety considerations for patients taking herbal products

The increased use of herbal therapy and other dietary supplements in the past decade has increased the risk of complications for patients undergoing surgery. The use of herbal products is projected to rise in the United States. Therefore, it is important for the perianesthesia nurse to be aware of the herbal products that patients are taking and the possible anesthesia and/or surgical complications related to herbal products. Current resources are reviewed in this article to increase awareness for the perianesthesia nurse. Recommendations for establishing local protocols are given, and patient education on the use of herbal products is also considered.

Low-doses of ionising radiation induce melanoma metastases and trigger the immune system--adrenal axis feedback loop

Low-doses of ionising radiation are frequently implicated in triggering and/or accelerating the growth of skin and other malignancies. It seemed probable that the radiation at similar dose levels might initiate metastasis from already existing tumours. Highly pigmented human melanoma xenograft that had lost its ability for a spontaneous metastasising and grown subcutaneously in athymic mice was exposed to very low and well-defined doses of ionising radiation to determine whether low linear energy transfer radiation can restore metastatic potential of the tumour. To ensure that all effects derived from radiation-activated neoplastic cells only, I was delivered selectively to the cutaneous melanoma instead of using the external beam. The direct response of these tumours to radiation was monitored by determining the growth rate of the lesions. Histopathological methods were employed to detect metastases. The lowest radiation dose of approximately 6 cGy deposited in the tumours initiated metastatic spread in all animals. Gradual increase of the radiation doses diminished both the frequency of the appearance of metastases and their distance from the primary lesions. There were no metastases from non-irradiated melanomas. The highest dose used (60 cGy) did not affect significantly the growth of cutaneous (primary) tumours, but lower doses that enhanced inflammatory infiltration of the lesions reduced tumour growth. Such radiation-stimulated immune responses were accompanied by increased pigmentation in cutaneous lesions and activation of the adrenal cortex indicating that the immune system-adrenal axis feedback loop had been triggered. The results demonstrate that very low-doses of ionising radiation induce melanoma metastases. The phenomenon is accompanied by the stimulation of the immune system-adrenal axis feedback loop that regulates eicosanoid synthesis, thereby suggesting an involvement of these molecules in the process. Radiation doses approaching the therapeutic level do not initiate melanoma dissemination.

Furcation involvement in posterior teeth

This article presents two cases in which different treatments were used for mandibular molars with furcation lesions. In the first case, a conventional amputation treatment of the distal root was performed to save the mesial root as a terminal tooth, which was used as a partial denture abutment. The second case describes a relatively new technique in which a root perforation was filled with graft material (synthetic bioglass) and covered with a resorbable membrane to treat an iatrogenic furcation lesion adjacent to the mesial root. Twelve months after surgery, periapical radiographs of both treated cases showed increased bone density. Follow-up in both cases--30 months in the first case and 12 months in the second--showed no pathological recurrence or clinical dysfunction. Root amputation may provide an alternative to extraction in periodontally involved molars. Synthetic bone replacement materials combined with guided tissue regeneration may also help to correct osseous defects incurred by recent furcation perforations with associated bone loss.

Engineering an Mg2+ site to replace a structurally conserved arginine in the catalytic center of histidyl-tRNA synthetase by computer experiments

Histidyl-tRNA synthetase (HisRS) differs from other class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) in that it harbors an arginine at a position where the others bind a catalytic Mg2+ ion. In computer experiments, four mutants of HisRS from Escherichia coli were engineered by removing the arginine and introducing a Mg2+ ion and residues from seryl-tRNA synthetase (SerRS) that are involved in Mg2+ binding. The mutants recreate an active site carboxylate pair conserved in other class II aaRSs, in two possible orders: Glu-Asp or Asp-Glu, replacing Glu-Thr in native HisRS. The mutants were simulated by molecular dynamics in complex with histidyl-adenylate. As controls, the native HisRS was simulated in complexes with histidine, histidyl-adenylate, and histidinol. The native structures sampled were in good agreement with experimental structures and biochemical data. The two mutants with the Glu-Asp sequence showed significant differences in active site structure and Mg2+ coordination from SerRS. The others were more similar to SerRS, and one of them was analyzed further through simulations in complex with histidine, and His+ATP. The latter complex sampled two Mg2+ positions, depending on the conformation of a loop anchoring the second carboxylate. The lowest energy conformation led to an active site geometry very similar to SerRS, with the principal Mg2+ bridging the alpha- and beta-phosphates, the first carboxylate (Asp) coordinating the ion through a water molecule, and the second (Glu) coordinating it directly. This mutant is expected to be catalytically active and suggests a basis for the previously unexplained conservation of the active site Asp-Glu pair in class II aaRSs other than HisRS.

In vivo pharmacology of L-159,913, a new highly potent and selective nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist

The present study was designed to characterize the in vivo pharmacology of L-159,913 (4-[[2'-(N-benzoylsulfamoyl)biphenyl-4-yl]-5butyl-2,4-dihydr o-2- [2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one); a potent All receptor antagonist. In normotensive rats, dogs, rhesus monkeys, and chimpanzees, L-159,913 inhibited All-induced elevations in blood pressure. In conscious rats, the relative potencies (ED50) were 0.51 mg/kg i.v. and 0.72 mg/kg p.o. Duration of action with single i.v. or p.o. doses exceeded 6 hr in rats. L-159,913 was 3 times less potent than losartan in rats and equipotent to losartan in monkeys. All induced elevation of plasma aldosterone in rats was also inhibited by L-159,913. L-159,913 was antihypertensive in high renin hypertensive rats (aortic coarctation). The maximum hypotensive response to an acute dose of L-159,913 (10 mg/kg, po) was equal to that of enalaprilat (0.3 mg/kg, iv) in this renin dependent animal model. In conscious normotensive dogs, L-159,913 had a moderate diuretic, natriuretic and kaliuretic response with no effect on glomerular filtration rate, effective renal plasma flow or filtration fraction, suggesting a tubular site of action. L-159,913 is a selective and potent All receptor antagonist with good oral activity, long duration of action and antihypertensive efficacy.

Solvent interactions with pi ring systems in proteins

The interaction of water molecules with apolar amino acids is an important aspect of the hydrophobic effect and hence of protein folding. Our distributed multiple electrostatic model for water interacting with phenylalanine dipeptides shows that minimum energy sites exist above the aromatic ring such that a solvent molecule can interact with the pi electrons, but only when this site is not blocked by main-chain atoms or disturbed by main-chain polar atoms. This is consistent with the experimental evidence of others that water can hydrogen bond to aromatic pi electrons. In contrast, our analysis of solvent interactions with phenylalanine residues based on 48 high-resolution, well-refined protein structures shows that the dominant interaction of solvent molecules is with the edge of the ring and not with the pi elections. As the faces of phenylalanine rings tend to be buried, and solvent interactions with neighbouring polar atoms are more favourable, the interaction of water molecules with the faces of aromatic pi rings appears not to occur frequently in proteins.

Early exercise testing and discharge of patients with acute chest pain syndromes

Forty-nine patients deemed to have a low in-hospital risk after 24 hours observation for suspected myocardial infarction, underwent exercise testing 24-48 hours after admission. Thirty-six patients had adequate exercise tolerance and follow-up of this group at one year, showed that no major cardiac event occurred. Of the 13 patients whose performance was inadequate, five were found to have critical lesions at angiography. Early exercise testing is a useful prognostic test, permitting confident early discharge of patients who do not have threatening coronary disease. If this approach was adopted throughout the country, the number of patients, referred for angiographic assessment prior to loss of myocardium could be substantially, and justifiable increased.

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal skin infections in a US meat-packing plant

In 1985, the second reported outbreak of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) skin infections among US meat packers was recognized at an Oregon meat-packing plant. All 69 plant workers were interviewed and examined for the presence of pustular, draining, or inflamed lesions. During a three-month period, 44 episodes of skin infection occurred in 32 workers, all but four of whom worked in boning or killing areas. Acquiring infection was associated with job category (relative risk [RR], 5.7; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 2.9 to 11.3) and having at least two hand lacerations (RR adjusted for occupation, 6.2; 95% CI, 3.0 to 12.5). Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (18), Staphylococcus aureus (12), or both (20) were isolated from 70 lesions cultured. Meat is suspected as a vehicle of transmission because cultures of two meat specimens contained the same GABHS strain as did 24 isolates from patients. Increasing reports of GABHS skin infections in meat packers suggest that this occupational risk may be more common than is realized.

A cross-sectional study of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether process employees

Human exposures to ethylene glycol monomethyl ether have been associated with hematological and neurological abnormalities. Recent animal toxicology studies have also reported testicular atrophy. To determine whether employees potentially exposed to ethylene glycol monomethyl ether during manufacturing and packaging had a higher prevalence of anemia, leukopenia, or sterility than an in-plant comparison group, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the Michigan Division of Dow Chemical U.S.A. Blood samples on 65 of 97 potentially exposed and control white males, and semen samples from a subset of 15 were analyzed. With the possible exception of smaller testicular size, no gross abnormalities or clinically meaningful differences in hematological or fertility indices were noted. Results of regression modeling suggested that white blood cells and hemoglobin might be decreased at higher exposure levels.

Involvement of dolichol phosphates as intermediates in the mannosyl and galactosyl transferases of rat testicular germ cell Golgi apparatus membranes

Isolated Golgi apparatus membranes from the germinal elements (spermatocytes and early spermatids) of rat testis were examined for their ability to incorporate [14C]mannose and [14C]galactose into glycolipid and glycoprotein fractions. Transfer of mannose from GDP-[14C]mannose into a Lipid I fractions (GPD:MPP mannosyl transferase activity), identified as mannosyl phosphoryl dolichol, showed optimal activity at 1.5 mM manganese and at pH 7.5. Low concentrations of Triton X-100 (0.1%) stimulated transferase activity in the presence of exogenous dolichol phosphate (Dol-P); however, inhibition occurred at Triton X-100 concentrations greater than 0.1%. Maximal activity of this GDP:MPP mannosyl transferase occurred at 25 microM Dol-P. Activity using endogenous acceptor was 2.34 pmole/min/mg, whereas in the presence of 25 microM Dol-P the specific activity was 284 pmole/min/mg, a stimulation of 125-fold. Incorporation of mannose into a Lipid II (oligosaccharide pyrophosphoryl dolichol) and a glycoprotein fraction was also examined. In the absence of exogenous Dol-P, rapid incorporation into Lipid I occurred with a subsequent rise in Lipid II and glycoprotein fractions suggesting precursor-product relationships. Addition of exogenous Dol-P to galactosyl transferase assays showed only a minor stimulation, less than twofold, in all fractions. Over the concentration range of 9.4 to 62.5 micrograms/ml Dol-P, only 1% of radioactive product accumulated in the combined lipid fractions. These observations suggest that the mannose transfer involves Dol-P intermediates and also that spermatocyte Golgi membranes may be involved in formation of the oligosaccharide core as well as in terminal glycosylations.