Caries-induced changes in the expression of pulpal neuropeptide Y

Recent evidence suggests that the sympathetic nervous system may have a role in modulating neurogenic inflammation and bone remodelling. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a well-characterized neuropeptide transmitter in the peripheral sympathetic nervous system. NPY is known to be present in human dental pulp; however, quantitative data on NPY levels in pulpal health and disease in an adult population remain to be determined. The aims of the current study were to assess, quantitatively, NPY levels by radioimmunoassay and confirm the distribution of NPY fibres by immunocytochemistry in carious and non-carious adult human pulp tissue. Our results suggest changes in the levels and distribution of NPY in human dental pulp during the caries process, with significantly higher levels of NPY in carious compared with non-carious adult human teeth. Within the carious samples studied, our finding, that NPY levels were significantly elevated in mild/moderate caries, concurs with the hypothesis that NPY could have a modulatory role in pulpal inflammation and in reparative dentine formation. © 2006 Eur J Oral Sci.

Compressive membrane action in composite floor slabs in the Cardington LBTF

This paper presents the results of an experimental study (the ultimate load capacity of composite metal decking/concrete floor slabs. Full-scale in situ testing of composite floor slabs was carried out in the Building Research Establishment's Large Building Test Facility (LBTF) at Cardington. A parallel laboratory test programme, which compared the behaviour of composite floor slabs strips, also carried out at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Articular attention was paid to the contribution of compressive membrane action to the load carrying capacity. The results of both test programmes were compared with predictions by yield line theory and a theoretical prediction method in which the amount of horizontal restraint mid be assessed. The full-scale tests clearly demon-wed the significant contribution of compressive membrane effects to the load capacity of interior floor panels with a lesser contribution to edge/corner panels.

Load Testing of Floor Slabs in a Full-Scale Reinforced Concrete Building

A series of short and long term service load tests were undertaken on the sixth floor of the full-scale, seven storey, reinforced concrete building at the Large Building Test Facility of the Building Research Establishment at Cardington. By using internally strain gauged reinforcing bars cast into an internal and external floor bay during the construction process it was possible to gain a detailed record of slab strains resulting from the application of several arrangements of test loads. Short term tests were conducted in December 1998 and long term monitoring then ensued until April 2001. This paper describes the test programmes and presents results to indicate slab behaviour for the various loading regimes.

In situ measurement of UHF wearable antenna radiation efficiency using a reverberation chamber

The radiation efficiency and resonance frequency of five compact antennas worn by nine individual test subjects was measured at 2.45 GHz in a reverberation chamber. The results show that, despite significant differences in body mass, wearable antenna radiation efficiency had a standard deviation less than 0.6 dB and the resonance frequency shift was less than 1% between test subjects. Variability in the radiation efficiency and resonance frequency shift between antennas was largely dependant on body tissue coupling which is related to both antenna geometry and radiation characteristics. The reverberation chamber measurements were validated using a synthetic tissue phantom and compared with results obtained in a spherical near field chamber and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation.

Temporal Variability in Predator-Prey Relationships of a Forest Floor Food Web

Connectance webs represent the standard data description in food web ecology, but their usefulness is often limited in understanding the patterns and processes within ecosystems. Increasingly, efforts have been made to incorporate additional, biologically meaningful, data into food web descriptions, including the construction of food webs using data describing the body size and abundance of each species. Here, data from a terrestrial forest floor food web, sampled seasonally over a 1-year period, were analysed to investigate (i) how stable the body size abundance and predator prey relationships of an ecosystem are through time and (ii) whether there are system-specific differences in body size abundance and predator prey relationships between ecosystem types.