Spatial Variation in Personal Exposure of Parking Attendants to Traffic Emissions in an Urban Conurbation

This study presents temporal and spatial variations in personal exposure of parking attendants in a busy conurbation in the northern part of the UK. Two traffic related pollutants - carbon monoxide (CO) and ultrafine particulates (UFP), mainly associated with urban drives, have been considered for two distinct locations- one, in the city centre and the other in a suburban area of Leeds, a prominent city in West Yorkshire. The monitoring of pollutants was conducted while parking attendants carried out their duty along the streets during different times of the year to capture the seasonal fluctuations. Our results show a wide variation in exposure levels for both CO and UFP, marked both by seasonal and daily characteristics. There seems to be considerable variations in exposure levels depending on the location of the parking attendants with respect to traffic activity. Specifically, the level of exposure closer to market areas within the city centre, despite located in open spaces but closer to congested streets were found to be much higher owing to frequent stopping, stopping and idling of cars in search of parking spaces. This demonstrates the merit in setting up transport interchanges and park-and-ride schemes away from busy streets to ameliorate the exposure levels

Development of multi-functional streetscape green infrastructure using a performance index approach

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper presents a performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation. A performance index (PI) is conceived using the following seven traits, specific to the street environments – Pollution Flux Potential (PFP), Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP), Thermal Comfort Potential (TCP), Noise Attenuation Potential (NAP), Biomass Energy Potential (BEP), Environmental Stress Tolerance (EST) and Crown Projection Factor (CPF). Its application is demonstrated through a case study using fifteen street vegetation species from the UK, utilising a combination of direct field measurements and inventoried literature data. Our results indicate greater preference to small-to-medium size trees and evergreen shrubs over larger trees for streetscaping. The proposed PI approach can be potentially applied two-fold: one, for evaluation of the performance of the existing street vegetation, facilitating the prospects for further improving them through management strategies and better species selection; two, for planning new streetscapes and multi-functional biomass as part of extending the green urban infrastructure

Dynein catch bond as a mediator of codependent bidirectional cellular transport

Intracellular bidirectional transport of cargo on microtubule filaments is achieved by the collective action of oppositely directed dynein and kinesin motors. Experiments have found that in certain cases, inhibiting the activity of one type of motor results in an overall decline in the motility of the cellular cargo in both directions. This counter-intuitive observation, referred to as {\em paradox of codependence} is inconsistent with the existing paradigm of a mechanistic tug-of-war between oppositely directed motors. Unlike kinesin, dynein motors exhibit catchbonding, wherein the unbinding rates of these motors decrease with increasing force on them. Incorporating this catchbonding behavior of dynein in a theoretical model, we show that the functional divergence of the two motors species manifests itself as an internal regulatory mechanism, and leads to codependent transport behaviour in biologically relevant regimes. Using analytical methods and stochastic simulations, we analyse the processivity characteristics and probability distribution of run times and pause times of transported cellular cargoes. We show that catchbonding can drastically alter the transport characteristics and also provide a plausible resolution of the paradox of codependence.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure

Stability Analysis of a Flexible Vehicle Model Controlled by Human Pilot Models

There is a constant race among automobile manufactures to design safer vehicles while minimizing weight to reduce power consumption. Additionally, organizations like NASA and SpaceX are persistently working toward creating reliable, lightweight rovers to be used on the surface of Mars. However, the lightweight requirement often increases vehicle flexibility, which further develops a tendency toward instability in the lateral (sideways) direction. This investigation develops a mathematical model that represents the dynamics of a flexible vehicle in forward motion, and a heuristic human pilot model is proposed which controls the vehicle. Following such formulation, the combined vehicle and pilot model is analyzed using 3 techniques: the Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion, direct eigenvalue analysis, and a time-marching simulation in MATLAB. Successive iterations are then made to the initial pilot model with the aim of better replication of human behavior, which are then each analyzed by the same set of stability methods. It is shown that the frame lateral stiffness (flexibility) of the vehicle plays a significant role in determining the lateral stability of the vehicle, provided that the vehicle has relatively stiff tires. These results are useful for designing highly flexible human-powered vehicles and rovers, but are also fundamental to safety mechanisms in automobiles

Role of neurosonography in neonates with clinically suspected intracranial pathology

Background: Preterm neonates have a higher mortality and morbidity because of their greater risk for intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy(HIE) which can lead to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. The present study was conducted to evaluate neonates with clinically suspected intracranial pathology by neurosonography.Methods: Included neonates were those with clinically suspected intracranial pathology admitted to neonatal intensive care unit of the Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Hospital (Deemed to be University), Sangli from October 2018 till December 2018. First cranial neurosonography was done between first and third day, second between 7th and 10th day of birth. HIE also known as Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) grading was done using the De Varies et al, grading. Severity of ICH was graded according to Papile and Burstein classification(1978).Results: Of the total 60 neonates, 61.7% were preterm and rest at term. Mean APGAR score at 1 minute was 8.6 (range 5 to 10) and at 5 minutes was 9.58 (range 8 to 10). Mean ventricular index at the first assessment was 26.78% and 26.89% at the second assessment. Grade 1 HIE was found in 17 neonates on first assessment, and two had grade 2 HIE. Second assessment revealed grade 1 HIE in 20 neonates and grade 2 in two. First assessment revealed two neonates with grade 1 and grade 2 ICH, out of which one grade 2 ICH worsened to grade 3. Two neonates were found to have corpus callosal agenesis.Conclusions: Transcranial neurosonography stands as an excellent and reliable investigation of choice for neonates to detect HIE,ICH and intracranial congenital anomalies

Comparison of Eplerenone and Spironolactone in Treatment of Patients with Congestive Heart Failure Visiting a Tertiary Hospital in North India

Background: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a serious clinical condition, with not many established treatment options. Eplerenone (Inspra) is the second aldosterone antagonist commonly used (in preference to Spironolactone) for treatment of hypertension and CHF in the US. Literature for its effectiveness in India is lacking, hence the need for the present study.Methodology: The present cross-sectional, observational study was done among 100 adult patients (>20 years) (50 patients in each study group: Eplerenone and Spironolactone), diagnosed with chronic CHF and poor left ventricle function (ejection fraction <40%) unknown of their blood pressure status. Sociodemographic profile, clinical and laboratory status was evaluated which included blood pressure measurements, lipid profile, kidney function tests, and other vitals. Assessment of parameters was done after 8 weeks of treatment.Results: Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and CK levels showed a significant change over the study duration, with Eplerenone producing a better result than Spironolactone (p<0.05). Remaining parameters showed a non-significant difference.Conclusion: Eplerenone group proved to be associated with a better outcome in hypertension and cardiovascular parameters; however, due to limitations in sample selection, more research is warranted