A Review of Pedestrian Flow Characteristics and Level of Service over Different Pedestrian Facilities

Present paper reviewed the past studies on pedestrian flow characteristics (such as speed, flow, density, space, free-flow speed and jam density) and development of Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS) for various pedestrian facilities (i.e., sidewalk, walkway, crosswalk, grade separated, stairways and escalators). Fundamental relationships (between speed and density) were observed over different facilities and were found to be significantly different. The fundamental relationships for sidewalk facility predicted the range of free flow speeds to be 65 − 85 m/min and jam densities to be 3.5 − 5.3 ped/m2. The minimum and maximum pedestrian speeds over sidewalk facility in different countries observed were 52 m/min and 98 m/min respectively, with a mean speed of 79 m/min. The male pedestrians walked at 4 − 9 m/min higher speed in comparison to their female counterparts; while the older pedestrians walked at 15 − 20 m/min lower speed than the younger ones over the various types of crosswalk facilities. Similarly, speed-density relationships for ascending and descending stairways showed that the difference between the two directions varied between 4 − 12 m/min, and that the speed was significantly higher in case of descending direction. Moreover, the jam densities for stairways were also observed to be lower in case of descending direction, as the pedestrians generally maintain higher gap (than in ascending direction) with other pedestrians in front to avoid pushing and the risk of falling down. The flow characteristics were significantly influenced by the type of facility, width, age, gender and location of the study. Primarily factors such as physique (height), culture (dress), attractions (presence of hawkers located along sidewalks), friction (due to parked vehicles), purpose of walking trip and environmentl conditions were the main reasons for pedestrians of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Sri-Lanka to walk significantly slower than the counterparts pedestrians in the USA, UK or Canada.The review conducted on the PLOS mainly looked into the type of survey conducted (qualitative vs. quantitative), LOS parameters and the various software/models used in development of LOS. Researchers from the USA and Japan preferably used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in defining LOS over sidewalks; while in India, China and Malaysia qualitative method was highly preferred. Pedestrian volume, safety, surface, obstruction and width were observed as essential parameters for qualitative survey while density, flow rate, pedestrian speed and width were used in quantitative survey for sidewalks. In developing the PLOS over sidewalk facility; Conjoint analysis, Landis method, HCM method, affinity propagation cluster algorithm and Gainesville method were preferred by various researchers. Studies conducted over crosswalk facility measured space, flow rate, vehicle volume and delay as the most significant factors in developing LOS based on quantitative technique; while vehicle speed, pedestrian volume and traffic control were mostly used for LOS development using qualitative technique.

Preparation and characterization of protein-nanotube conjugates

This chapter describes methods of immobilizing proteins on carbon nanotubes, using two different routes—physical adsorption and covalent attachment. We also provide an overview on how such conjugates can be characterized with the help of various techniques, such as Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), circular dichroism (CD), and fluorescence spectroscopies, in addition to the standard enzyme kinetic analyses of activity and stability. Both the attachment routes—covalent and noncovalent—could be used to prepare protein conjugates that retained a significant fraction of their native structure and function; furthermore, the protein conjugates were operationally stable, reusable, and functional even under harsh denaturing conditions. These studies therefore corroborate the use of these immobilization methods to engineer functional carbon nanotube-protein hybrids that are highly active and stable

Development and characterization of large-scale simple sequence repeats in jute

Jute is an important crop of the Indian subcontinent and comprises tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius) and white jute (C. capsularis). The yield and fiber quality of this crop remained stagnant for many years and could not be improved through conventional plant breeding. Also, no effort has been made to develop molecular markers on a scale required for marker-assisted selection (MAS) to supplement conventional plant breeding. As a first step toward deploying MAS for jute improvement, 2469 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were developed in tossa jute (JRO 524) using four SSR-enriched genomic libraries. A random subset of 100 SSRs (25 SSRs from each library) was used to detect polymorphism between the parental genotypes of each of the two recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping populations. The RILs are being developed from JRO 524 × PPO4 (for fiber fineness) and JRC 321 × CMU 010 (for lignin content) crosses to prepare molecular maps and conduct quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses. Both SSR length polymorphism and ± polymorphism (null alleles, i.e., presence and absence of specific SSR) were detected; 50 SSRs detected polymorphism between the two genotypes of tossa jute, whereas 45 SSRs detected polymorphism between the two genotypes of white jute. This SSR allelic polymorphism in jute is higher than that reported in other crops and is adequate for construction of genetic maps for QTL analysis. The large-scale SSRs will also prove useful in studying genetic diversity, population structure, and association mapping

Development of SSR markers and construction of a linkage map in jute

Jute is an important natural fibre crop, which is only second to cotton in its importance at the global level. It is mostly grown in Indian subcontinent and has been recently used for the development of genomics resources. We recently initiated a programme to develop simple sequence repeat markers and reported a set of 2469 SSR that were developed using four SSR-enriched libraries (Mir et al. 2009). In this communication, we report an additional set of 607 novel SSR in 393 SSR containing sequences. However, primers could be designed for only 417 potentially useful SSR. Polymorphism survey was carried out for 374 primer pairs using two parental genotypes (JRO 524 and PPO4) of a mapping population developed for fibre fineness; only 66 SSR were polymorphic. Owing to a low level of polymorphism between the parental genotypes and a high degree of segregation distortion in recombinant inbred lines, genotypic data of only 53 polymorphic SSR on the mapping population consisting of 120 RIL could be used for the construction of a linkage map; 36 SSR loci were mapped on six linkage groups that covered a total genetic distance of 784.3 cM. Hopefully, this map will be enriched with more SSR loci in future and will prove useful for identification of quantitative trait loci/genes for molecular breeding involving improvement of fibre fineness and other related traits in jute

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Production and extraction of phytotoxins from Colletotrichum dematium FGCC# 20 effective against Parthenium hysterophorus L.

The aim of this work was to study the herbicidal potential of Cell free culture filtrate of Colletotrichum dematium FGCC#20 against Parthenium by employing different bioassays i.e. shoot-cut, seedling, detached leaf and seed germination. On solvent extraction of the Cell free culture filtrate, Ethyl acetate extracted fraction showed the presence of phytotoxic moiety