Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (United Kingdom)

Late tectonic granitoids that cut a deformed sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks (Tha'lab Group) comprising the Al Mukalla terrane have been investigated by whole rock major and trace element geochemistry, Sm–Nd and feldspar Pb isotope compositions, and U–Pb zircon geochronology. The 696 ± 12 Ma age determined for one such intrusion, the Mukalla granite, demonstrates that the Mukalla arc had formed and been juxtaposed with Azania and the Al Mahfid terrane before c. 700 Ma. Its eNdt value of − 0.2 and elevated feldspar Pb isotope values collectively indicate the involvement of some ancient continental material during its petrogenesis. Two other bodies were intruded c. 550 Ma, and another, the Burum granite c. 520 Ma. These 550–520 Ma bodies are calc-alkalic or alkaline and share a similarly slightly evolved isotopic signature to the Mukalla granite. The isotopic signature obtained for the Mukalla granite is consistent with development of an intra-oceanic Mukalla arc, which was influenced by sediment derived from Azania, rather than an Andean-style arc that developed on it. The final closure of the Mozambique Ocean is located farther east. Intrusion of the younger granitoids was likely facilitated by transcurrent faulting, akin to the Najd fault system of Saudi Arabia.

Wśród najważniejszych czynników które mają istotny wpływ na stan zdrowia, a także długość życia należy wymienić sprawność fizyczną (AF). Sprawność fizyczna to jeden z głównych składników zdrowego stylu życia. Istnieje powszechne przekonanie, że sprawność fizyczna jest jedną z ważniejszych kategorii warunkujących prawidłowe funkcjonowanie ludzkiego organizmu. Po piątej dekadzie życia odczuwalne są jego trudy. Obniża się wydolność fizyczna, stan psychiczny. Dokuczliwe są trudności z koncentracją oraz przyswajaniem nowych informacji. Dlatego należy dbać o kondycję fizyczną i psychiczną, ponieważ przedłuża to okres sprawności. Prowadzenie aktywnego stylu życia wiąże się bowiem z wieloma korzyściami. Korzyści z podejmowania aktywności fizycznej są oczywiste. Systematyczna aktywność fizyczna jest bardzo silnym biologicznym stymulatorem i należy do głównych determinant zdrowia fizycznego i psychicznego człowieka. Jej optymalny poziom stymuluje rozwój, zabezpiecza potrzeby ruchowe, wzmacnia wydolność serca, poprawia elastyczność mięśni i stawów, wzmacnia mięśnie i kości. Aktywność fizyczna wiąże się oczywiście z bardzo zróżnicowanym wydatkiem energetycznym, w zależności od intensywności ruchu/wysiłku fizycznego, jego czasu trwania, temperatury otoczenia czy masy ciała osoby wykonującej wysiłek fizyczny. Poprzez sprawność fizyczną osób starszych określa się zdolności motoryczne całego ciała, a także jego samodzielność w wykonywaniu różnych aktywności. Udowodniono, że osoby sprawne fizycznie, w porównaniu do osób mało aktywnych, cieszą się lepszym samopoczuciem, rzadziej odczuwają dolegliwości psychiczne lub fizyczne, takie jak obniżony nastrój czy bóle głowy. Sprawność fizyczna seniora jest zależna np. od jego trybu życia i aktywności fizycznej, jaką podejmował we wcześniejszych fazach życia. Nawet u osób z obniżoną wydolnością można ją podwyższyć dzięki uprawianiu turystyki, która skłania do aktywności ruchowej. Poprzez turystykę ludzie starsi mogą zrealizować swoje pasje i marzenia, poszerzyć system wartości, opierając go na doznaniach kulturalnych i estetycznych. Mogą urozmaicać swoje życie, odrywając się od codziennej rutyny, a często i samotności. Turystyka pozwala zdobyć nowe wiadomości o świecie, dzięki czemu człowiek rozwija się i posiada większą świadomość otoczenia, wzmacnia swoje poczucie wartości oraz pewności siebie. Człowiek starszy dzięki aktywności turystycznej wolniej się starzeje i dłużej pozostaje sprawny. Można powiedzieć, iż jest to pewna forma terapii, która aktywizuje myślenie, ułatwia nawiązywanie kontaktów interpersonalnych, zapobiega samotności. Turystyka powinna być stałym elementem zdrowego i aktywnego stylu życia ludzi starszych.

Background:Randomized controlled trials using complete healing as an endpoint suffer from poor statistical power, owing to the heterogeneity of wounds and their healing trajectories. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently consulted with expert groups to consider percentage area reduction (PAR) of the wound over a 4-week period as a valid intermediate endpoint, creating the opportunity for more powerful study designs.Methods:A within-subject controlled study design comparing the PAR of venous leg ulcers (VLU) in patients over 4 weeks receiving different interventions. Twenty-nine patients received multilayer compression over 4 weeks, followed by neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) of the leg muscle pump in addition to compression for a further 4 weeks. Paired comparison was then made of PAR between the two phases. A second cohort of 22 patients received only multilayer compression throughout both 4-week phases.Results:Patients randomized to NMES saw a significant increase in healing rate compared with compression alone, whereas patients receiving compression only saw no significant change in healing rate throughout the course of the study.Conclusions:Intermittent NMES of the common peroneal nerve significantly accelerates the healing of VLU. It is well tolerated by patients and deserves serious consideration as an adjuvant to compression therapy. PAR is a useful metric for comparing the performance of wound healing interventions, and the self-controlled trial design allows sensitive discrimination with a relatively small number of subjects over a reasonably short trial period. The study is reported according to the CONSORT reporting guidelines.Clinical Trial Registration:NCT03396731 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Significance:Chronic wounds are associated with significant morbidity, marked loss of quality of life, and considerable economic burden. Evidence-based risk prediction to guide improved wound prevention and treatment is limited by the complexity in their etiology, clinical underreporting, and a lack of studies using large high-quality datasets.Recent Advancements:The objective of this review is to summarize key components and challenges in the development of personalized risk prediction tools for both prevention and management of chronic wounds, while highlighting several innovations in the development of better risk stratification.Critical Issues:Regression-based risk prediction approaches remain important for assessment of prognosis and risk stratification in chronic wound management. Advances in statistical computing have boosted the development of several promising machine learning (ML) and other semiautomated classification tools. These methods may be better placed to handle large number of wound healing risk factors from large datasets, potentially resulting in better risk prediction when combined with conventional methods and clinical experience and expertise.Future Directions:Where the number of predictors is large and heterogenous, the correlations between various risk factors complex, and very large data sets are available, ML may prove a powerful adjuvant for risk stratifying patients predisposed to chronic wounds. Conventional regression-based approaches remain important, particularly where the number of predictors is relatively small. Translating estimated risk derived from ML algorithms into practical prediction tools for use in clinical practice remains challenging.

<p>Efficient management of drinking water quality is critical for the water supply, so effective monitoring of supply and storage systems is a priority. This project aims to predict the presence of Taste and Odour (T&O) compounds in drinking water reservoirs, using molecular analyses and smart in-situ monitoring systems. The most common T&O compounds, Geosmin and 2-MIB, are secondary metabolites that can be produced in waterbodies by cyanobacteria and actinomycetes and impact drinking water taste and odour. Although there is no evidence of related health risks, they can be perceived by humans at very low concentrations (5-10 ng/L) and the treatment process to remove them from drinking water is costly. Early assessment of T&O risk is crucial, but currently requires time-consuming and costly sampling as well as laboratory analysis which prevents real-time monitoring and a timely management response.</p><p>Cyanobacterial species responsible for T&O production can be monitored with eDNA techniques and potentially provide an early warning of T&O episodes. Moreover, detection of the genes that are responsible for T&O production within the DNA of the freshwater community can help to speed up analysis. We show that qPCR methods can target the Geosmin synthase gene (geoA) and that this correlates significantly with Geosmin concentrations >15 ng/L. Alternatively, in-situ sensors that can be deployed remotely and transmit data, can provide real-time monitoring for early warning and potentially predictive capacity. Commercially available sensors do not currently exist for T&O compounds, but they do for many other water quality parameters. We consider the analytes that could be effective for T&O warning systems, using a Welsh reservoir as an exemplar case. Assessment of nutrient dynamics suggests N and P ratios are critical, hence we evaluate the sensors that are available for these compounds and associated environmental controls on their behaviour. We present recommendations for the design of an in-situ monitoring programme and introduce the planned tests that will evaluate it.</p>

The Dolgarrog Dam Disaster claimed the lives of 16 people and led to the introduction of current UK reservoir safety legislation. This paper is a summary of the events of that fatal night in 1925, the legislation that followed and an account of the recent improvement works carried out to the memorial site in the village of Dolgarrog.

There are high aspirations for environmental water quality targets in the UK, but requirements for significant growth in agricultural production to meet both food security objectives and provide viable livelihoods for farmers make these hard to achieve. Significant water quality challenges are related to nutrients, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, pathogens, sediments and habitat alteration. To facilitate the challenges posed, there is a need for predictive, spatially distributed models to be developed that encompass the key aspects of agriculture and water management in order to inform future policy and organizations with an interest in land management. Additionally, there needs to be recognition from policy makers that different solutions are needed in different agri‐water systems and that it often takes many years or decades for policies to have a sustained water quality impact. Long‐term support for research infrastructure and the scientific skills base is required to enable measurement and data analysis necessary to inform decision making. Farmers need clearly articulated information on the issues and potential solutions on which to make informed management decisions regarding water. There are existing solutions to some problems and this knowledge needs to be effectively disseminated with appropriate incentives for implementation to have maximum impact. Greater collaboration between researchers, industry, and policy makers, with the necessary framework to deliver effective joint working, is urgently needed. There is also a need for a wider societal understanding of the land–water system and the various ways in which society pays (and might pay in the future) for the real value of water. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1201. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1201This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems Science of Water > Water Quality