Modelling the impact of wastewater flows and management practices on antimicrobial resistance in dairy farms.

Dairy slurry is a major source of environmental contamination with antimicrobial resistant genes and bacteria. We developed mathematical models and conducted on-farm research to explore the impact of wastewater flows and management practices on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in slurry. Temporal fluctuations in cephalosporin-resistant were observed and attributed to farm activities, specifically the disposal of spent copper and zinc footbath into the slurry system.

Ginsenosides enhance P2X7-dependent cytokine secretion from LPS-primed rodent macrophages.

The activation of P2X7 is a well-known stimulus for the NLRP3-caspase 1 inflammasome and subsequent rapid IL-1β secretion from monocytes and macrophages. Here we show that positive allosteric modulators of P2X7, ginsenosides, can enhance the release of three important cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α from LPS-primed rodent macrophages using the J774 mouse macrophage cell line and primary rat peritoneal macrophages. We compared the immediate P2X7 responses in un-primed and LPS-primed macrophages and found no difference in calcium response amplitude or kinetics.

Preservation of Smooth Muscle Cell Integrity and Function: A Target for Limiting Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Expansion?

(1) Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a silent, progressive disease with significant mortality from rupture. Whilst screening programmes are now able to detect this pathology early in its development, no therapeutic intervention has yet been identified to halt or retard aortic expansion. The inability to obtain aortic tissue from humans at early stages has created a necessity for laboratory models, yet it is essential to create a timeline of events from EARLY to END stage AAA progression.

Relationships between riverine and terrestrial dissolved organic carbon: Concentration, radiocarbon signature, specific UV absorbance.

The transfer of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from land to watercourses plays a major role in the carbon cycle, and in the transport and fate of associated organic and inorganic contaminants. We investigated, at global scale, how the concentrations and properties of riverine DOC depend upon combinations of terrestrial source solutions. For topsoil, subsoil, groundwater and river solutions in different Köppen-Geiger climatic zones, we compiled published and new values of DOC concentration ([DOC]), radiocarbon signature (DOC), and specific UV absorbance (SUVA).

A novel approach to baseline water quality assessment at local and catchment scale: a case study from Berambadi, India.

Optimal design and maintenance are necessary for the sustainability of wastewater treatment systems. In this study, we present the outcome of a novel approach to baseline assessment conducted prior to the design and deployment of a decentralized wastewater treatment system at a school in rural India. The baseline water quality monitoring protocol was deployed to assess (a) the quality and quantity of wastewater (greywater and blackwater) flows from the school and (b) the status of surface water and groundwater quality in the catchment.

Sustainable water resources through harvesting rainwater and the effectiveness of a low-cost water treatment.

Increases in world population and climate change are some of the pressures affecting water resources for current and future water availability. The variability in water availability can reduce agricultural yields, food supplies and potentially leads to malnutrition and spread of diseases in water-poor countries. Even some water-rich countries can experience prolonged periods of dry weather, causing a drop in water reservoirs levels, forcing more restricted water resources management.

Body mass index, estimated glucose disposal rate and vascular complications in type 1 diabetes: Beyond glycated haemoglobin.

Aims: To understand the relationship between insulin resistance (IR), assessed as estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR), and microvascular/macrovascular complications in people with type 1 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: Individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of type 1 diabetes were included in this cross-sectional study. BMI was categorised into normal weight (18.

Potash fertilizer promotes incipient salinization in groundwater irrigated semi-arid agriculture.

Incipient groundwater salinization has been identified in many arid and semi-arid regions where groundwater is increasingly used for irrigation, but the dominant processes at stake in such context are yet uncertain. Groundwater solutes originates from various sources such as atmospheric inputs, rock dissolution and fertilizer residues, and their concentration is controlled by hydrological processes, in particular evapotranspiration. Here, we propose a deconvolution method to identify the sources and processes governing the groundwater Chloride concentration in agricultural catchments, using the relative variations of Sodium and Chloride and using a neighbouring pristine catchment as a reference for the release rate of Na by weathering.

An Assessment of the Performance of the PLUS+ Tool in Supporting the Evaluation of Water Framework Directive Compliance in Scottish Standing Waters.

Phosphorus is one of the main causes of waterbodies in Scotland being at less than good ecological status (GES) in terms of the water framework directive (WFD). In Scotland, there are more than 8000 standing waters, defined as lakes and reservoirs that have a surface area of more than 0.5 km.

Positive allosteric modulation of P2X7 promotes apoptotic cell death over lytic cell death responses in macrophages.

P2X7 is an ATP-gated ion channel that is highly expressed by leukocytes, such as macrophages. Here, P2X7 has been demonstrated to be involved in the regulation of various cell death pathways; including apoptosis, pyroptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. However, cell death induction via P2X7 is complex and is reliant upon the nature of the stimulus, the duration of the stimulus, and the cell type investigated.

Impacts of nitrogen deposition on carbon and nitrogen cycling in alpine Racomitrium heath in the UK and prospects for recovery.

Deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) is a major threat to terrestrial ecosystems associated with impacts on ecosystem properties and functions including carbon (C) and nutrient stocks, soil water quality and nutrient retention. In the oceanic-alpine Racomitrium heath habitat, N deposition is associated with moss mat degradation and a shift from bryophyte to graminoid dominance. To investigate the effects of moss mat decline on C and N stocks and fluxes, we collected Racomitrium heath vegetation/soil cores from sites along a gradient of N deposition in the UK.

Dynamic Modeling and Target Loads of Sulfur and Nitrogen for Surface Waters in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The target load concept is an extension of the critical load concept of air pollution inputs to ecosystems. The advantage of target loads over critical loads is that one can define the deposition and the point in time (target year) when the critical (chemical) limit is no longer violated. This information on the timing of recovery requires dynamic modeling.

Citizen science evidence from the past century shows that Scottish rivers are warming.

Salmonid species are highly sensitive to river water temperature. Although long-term river temperature monitoring is essential for assessing drivers of change in ecological systems, these data are rarely available from statutory monitoring. We utilized a 105-year citizen science data set of river water temperature from the River Spey, North-East Scotland, gathered during the fishing season (April-October) between 1912 and 2016.

Metabolic Control in Type 1 Diabetes: Is Adjunctive Therapy the Way Forward?

Despite advances in insulin therapies, patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) have a shorter life span due to hyperglycaemia-induced vascular disease and hypoglycaemic complications secondary to insulin therapy. Restricting therapy for T1DM to insulin replacement is perhaps an over-simplistic approach, and we focus in this work on reviewing the role of adjuvant therapy in this population. Current data suggest that adding metformin to insulin therapy in T1DM temporarily lowers HbA1c and reduces weight and insulin requirements, but this treatment fails to show a longer-term glycaemic benefit.

Reply to Tagliabue.

The response by the authors. [Image: see text]

Progressive Development of Aberrant Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Disease.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a silent, progressive disease with a high mortality and an increasing prevalence with aging. Smooth muscle cell (SMC) dysfunction contributes to gradual dilatation and eventual rupture of the aorta. Here we studied phenotypic characteristics in SMC cultured from end-stage human AAA (≥5 cm) and cells cultured from a porcine carotid artery (PCA) model of early and end-stage aneurysm.

Why are NGOs sceptical of genome editing? NGOs' opposition to agricultural biotechnologies is rooted in scepticism about the framing of problems and solutions, rather than just emotion and dogma.

Environmental NGOs have various concerns about agricultural biotechnologies including gene editing. Accepting their skepticism of problems and solutions could help to build mutual understanding and find acceptable solutions to global food vulnerabilities. [Image: see text]

Long-term macronutrient stoichiometry of UK ombrotrophic peatlands.

In this paper we report new data on peat carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and accumulation rates for 15 sites in the UK. Concentrations of C, N and P measured in peat from five ombrotrophic blanket mires, spanning 4000-10,000years to present were combined with existing nutrient data from ten Scottish ombrotrophic peat bogs to provide the first UK perspective on millennial scale macronutrient concentrations in ombrotrophic peats. Long-term average C, N and P concentrations (0-1.

Integrating social and value dimensions into sustainability assessment of lignocellulosic biofuels.

The paper clarifies the social and value dimensions for integrated sustainability assessments of lignocellulosic biofuels. We develop a responsible innovation approach, looking at technology impacts and implementation challenges, assumptions and value conflicts influencing how impacts are identified and assessed, and different visions for future development. We identify three distinct value-based visions.

Aged riverine particulate organic carbon in four UK catchments.

The riverine transport of particulate organic matter (POM) is a significant flux in the carbon cycle, and affects macronutrients and contaminants. We used radiocarbon to characterise POM at 9 riverine sites of four UK catchments (Avon, Conwy, Dee, Ribble) over a one-year period. High-discharge samples were collected on three or four occasions at each site.

Selected ginsenosides of the protopanaxdiol series are novel positive allosteric modulators of P2X7 receptors.

Background And Purpose: The P2X7 receptor is an ATP-gated ion channel predominantly expressed in immune cells and plays a key role in inflammatory processes. Ginseng is a well-known Chinese herb with both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties and many of its actions have been ascribed to constituent ginsenosides. We screened a number of ginsenoside compounds for pharmacological activity at P2X7 receptors, that might contribute to the reported immunomodulatory actions of ginseng.

Therapeutic potential of Panax ginseng and ginsenosides in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health burden and will become the third largest cause of death in the world by 2030. It is currently believed that an exaggerated inflammatory response to inhaled irritants, in particular cigarette smoke, cause progressive airflow limitation. This inflammation, where macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes are prominent, leads to oxidative stress, emphysema, airways fibrosis and mucus hypersecretion.

Atmospheric deposition of phosphorus to land and freshwater.

We compiled published and newly-obtained data on the directly-measured atmospheric deposition of total phosphorus (TP), filtered total phosphorus (FTP), and inorganic phosphorus (PO4-P) to open land, lakes, and marine coasts. The resulting global data base includes data for c. 250 sites, covering the period 1954 to 2012.