Cost-Effectiveness of Capping Freeways for Use as Parks: The New York Cross-Bronx Expressway Case Study

Objectives. To examine health benefits and cost-effectiveness of implementing a freeway deck park to increase urban green space. Methods. Using the Cross-Bronx Expressway in New York City as a case study, we explored the cost-effectiveness of implementing deck parks. We built a microsimulation model that included increased exercise, fewer accidents, and less pollution as well as the cost of implementation and maintenance of the park. We estimated both the quality-adjusted life years gained and the societal costs for 2017. Results. Implementation of a deck park over sunken parts of Cross-Bronx Expressway appeared to save both lives and money. Savings were realized for 84% of Monte Carlo simulations. Conclusions. In a rapidly urbanizing world, reclaiming green space through deck parks can bring health benefits alongside economic savings over the long term. Public Health Implications. Policymakers are seeking ways to create cross-sectorial synergies that might improve both quality of urban life and health. However, such projects are very expensive, and there is little information on their return of investment. Our analysis showed that deck parks produce exceptional value when implemented over below-grade sections of road

Detection of Phase Jumps of Free Core Nutation of the Earth and their Concurrence with Geomagnetic Jerks

We detected phase jumps of the Free Core Nutation (FCN) of the Earth directly from the analysis of the Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) observation of the Earth rotation for the period 1984-2003 by applying the Weighted Wavelet Z-Transform (WWZ) method and the Short-time Periodogram with the Gabor function (SPG) method. During the period, the FCN had two significant phase jumps in 1992 and 1998. These epochs coincide with the reported occurrence of geomagnetic jerks.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Restoration of NK Cell Cytotoxic Function With Elotuzumab and Daratumumab Promotes Elimination of Circulating Plasma Cells in Patients With SLE.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by multiple cellular and molecular dysfunctions of the innate and adaptive immunity. Cytotoxic function of NK cells is compromised in patients with SLE. Herein, we characterized the phenotypic alterations of SLE NK cells in a comprehensive manner to further delineate the mechanisms underlying the cytotoxic dysfunction of SLE NK cells and identify novel potential therapeutic targets. Therefore, we examined PBMC from SLE patients and matched healthy controls by single-cell mass cytometry to assess the phenotype of NK cells. In addition, we evaluated the cell function of NK cells (degranulation and cytokine production) and the killing of B cell subpopulations in a B cell-NK cell in vitro co-culture model. We found that SLE NK cells expressed higher levels of CD38 and were not able to adequately upregulate SLAMF1 and SLAMF7 following activation. In addition, ligation of SLAMF7 with elotuzumab or of CD38 with daratumumab on SLE NK cells enhanced degranulation of both healthy and SLE NK cells and primed them to kill circulating plasma cells in an in vitro co-culture system. Overall, our data indicated that dysregulated expression of CD38, SLAMF1 and SLAMF7 on SLE NK cells is associated with an altered interplay between SLE NK cells and plasma cells, thus suggesting their contribution to the accumulation of (auto)antibody producing cells. Accordingly, targeting SLAMF7 and CD38 may represent novel therapeutic approaches in SLE by enhancing NK cell function and promoting elimination of circulating plasma cell

Automated tracking and analysis of centrosomes in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos

Motivation: The centrosome is a dynamic structure in animal cells that serves as a microtubule organizing center during mitosis and also regulates cell-cycle progression and sets polarity cues. Automated and reliable tracking of centrosomes is essential for genetic screens that study the process of centrosome assembly and maturation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

SLAMF Receptor Expression Identifies an Immune Signature That Characterizes Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease of unknown etiology, linked to alterations in both the innate and the adaptive immune system. Due to the heterogeneity of the clinical presentation, the diagnosis of SLE remains complicated and is often made years after the first symptoms manifest, delaying treatment, and worsening the prognosis. Several studies have shown that signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family (SLAMF) receptors are aberrantly expressed and dysfunctional in SLE immune cells, contributing to the altered cellular function observed in these patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether altered co-/expression of SLAMF receptors on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) identifies SLE characteristic cell populations. To this end, single cell mass cytometry and bioinformatic analysis were exploited to compare SLE patients to healthy and autoimmune diseases controls. First, the expression of each SLAMF receptor on all PBMC populations was investigated. We observed that SLAMF1+ B cells (referred to as SLEB1) were increased in SLE compared to controls. Furthermore, the frequency of SLAMF4+ monocytes and SLAMF4+ NK were inversely correlated with disease activity, whereas the frequency SLAMF1+ CD4+ TDEM cells were directly correlated with disease activity. Consensus clustering analysis identified two cell clusters that presented significantly increased frequency in SLE compared to controls: switch memory B cells expressing SLAMF1, SLAMF3, SLAMF5, SLAMF6 (referred to as SLESMB) and circulating T follicular helper cells expressing the same SLAMF receptors (referred to as SLEcTFH). Finally, the robustness of the identified cell populations as biomarkers for SLE was evaluated through ROC curve analysis. The combined measurement of SLEcTFH and SLEB1 or SLESMB cells identified SLE patients in 90% of cases. In conclusion, this study identified an immune signature for SLE based on the expression of SLAMF receptors on PBMC, further highlighting the involvement of SLAMF receptors in the pathogenesis of SLE

Mesure de l'excitation et de l'inhibition dans le tissu neuronal en épilepsie par identification d'un modèle dynamique non linéaire d'activité EEG

Le problème posé est d'identifier un modèle réaliste physiologiquement pour interpréter les signaux EEG rencontrés en épilepsie. Ce modèle présente des non-linéarités, et son identification peut être envisagée suivant différentes approches. Celle qui est présentée passe par la minimisation d'une distance dans un espace de descripteurs, au moyen d'un algorithme évolutionnaire. Des résultats en simulation et sur signaux réels montrent que les valeurs identifiées permettent effectivement de dégager et d'interpréter certaines évolutions caractéristiques en début des crises

The genus <i>Elaphomyces </i>(<i>Ascomycota</i>, <i>Eurotiales</i>):a ribosomal DNA-based phylogeny and revised systematics of European 'deer truffles'

Elaphomyces (‘deer truffles’) is one of the most important ectomycorrhizal fungal genera in temperate and subarctic forest ecosystems, but also one of the least documented in public databases. The current systematics are mainly based on macromorphology, and is not significantly different from that proposed by Vittadini (1831). Within the 49 species recognised worldwide, 23 were originally described from Europe and 17 of these were described before the 20th century. Moreover, very recent phylogenetic treatments of the genus are mainly based on a few extra-European species and most common European species are still poorly documented. Based on an extensive taxonomic sampling mainly made in the biogeographically rich Cantabrian area (Spain), complemented with collections from France, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, all currently recognized species in Europe have been sequenced at the ITS and 28S of the rDNA. Combined phylogenetic analyses yielded molecular support to sections Elaphomyces and Ceratogaster (here emended), while a third, basal lineage encompasses the sections Malacodermei and Ascoscleroderma as well as the tropical genus Pseudotulostoma. Species limits are discussed and some taxa formerly proposed as genuine species based on morphology and biogeography are re-evaluated as varieties or forms. Spore size and ornamentation, features of the peridial surface, structure of the peridium, and the presence of mycelium patches attached to the peridial surface emerge as the most significant systematic characters. Four new species: E. barrioi, E. quercicola, E. roseolus and E. violaceoniger, one new variety: E. papillatus var. sulphureopallidus, and two new forms: E. granulatus forma pallidosporus and E. anthracinus forma talosporus are introduced, as well as four new combinations in the genus: E. muricatus var. reticulatus, E. muricatus var. variegatus, E. papillatus var. striatosporus and E. morettii var. cantabricus. Lectotypes and epitypes are designated for most recognised species. For systematic purposes, new infrageneric taxa are introduced: E. sect. Ascoscleroderma stat. nov., E. subsect. Sclerodermei stat. nov., E. subsect. Maculati subsect. nov., E. subsect. Muricati subsect. nov., and E. subsect. Papillati subsect. nov. Lastly, E. laevigatus, E. sapidus, E. sulphureopallidus and E. trappei are excluded from the genus and referred to Rhizopogon roseolus, Astraeus sapidus comb. nov., Astraeus hygrometricus and Terfezia trappei comb. nov. (syn.: Terfezia cistophila), respectively

Statistical characteristics of formation and evolution of structure in the universe

An approximate statistical description of the formation and evolution of structure of the universe based on the Zel'dovich theory of gravitational instability is proposed. It is found that the evolution of DM structure shows features of self-similarity and the main structure characteristics can be expressed through the parameters of initial power spectrum and cosmological model. For the CDM-like power spectrum and suitable parameters of the cosmological model the effective matter compression reaches the observed scales $R_{wall}\sim$20 -- 25$h^{-1}$Mpc with the typical mean separation of wall-like elements $D_{SLSS}\sim$50 -- 70$h^{-1}$Mpc. This description can be directly applied to the deep pencil beam galactic surveys and absorption spectra of quasars. For larger 3D catalogs and simulations it can be applied to results obtained with the core-sampling analysis. It is shown that the interaction of large and small scale perturbations modulates the creation rate of early Zel'dovich pancakes and generates bias on the SLSS scale. For suitable parameters of the cosmological model and reheating process this bias can essentially improve the characteristics of simulated structure of the universe. The models with $0.3\leq \Omega_m \leq 0.5$ give the best description of the observed structure parameters. The influence of low mass "warm" dark matter particles, such as a massive neutrino, will extend the acceptable range of $\Omega_m$ and $h$.Comment: 20pages, 7 figures, MNRAS in pres

WDPI 2010 - Work Disability Prevention and Integration

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