Lower Manhattan and the East River: an investigation into the renewal of the Lower East Side waterfront

With the mid-20th Century construction of an elevated highway along Manhattan’s East River, the declining neighborhood of the Lower East Side was removed from its waterfront. As cities begin to re-examine their edges, I feel it is appropriate to address the issues of the Lower East Side community and its former riverfront. Utilizing the recent developments in Manhattan, London, and Chicago as a basis for determining how metropolitan areas are attempting to reconnect with their shores, a set of questions were developed, analyzed, and then applied to the Lower East Side. With the analysis of these questions providing the groundwork for the project, the main concern turns to the elevated highway that has cut through the community along the water’s edge. There are three possible solutions for the future of this ‘wall’ in order to reconnect the Lower East Side with the East River. The first two solutions examine the idea of demolishing the elevated FDR Drive in favor of subterranean or surface streets. The other solution examines the possibility of redesigning the existing elevated highway. In the end, the project focuses on an urban design and planning program that re-establishes the connections between the community and the waterfront

Prevalence of Abnormal Lipid Profiles and the Relationship With the Development of Microalbuminuria in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence of lipid abnormalities and their relationship with albumin excretion and microalbuminuria in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study population comprised 895 young subjects with type 1 diabetes (490 males); median age at the baseline assessment was 14.5 years (range 10-21.1), and median diabetes duration was 4.8 years (0.2-17). A total of 2,194 nonfasting blood samples were collected longitudinally for determination of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, TG, and non-HDL cholesterol. Additional annually collected data on anthropometric parameters, A1C, and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) were available. RESULTS: Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol were higher in females than in males (all P 5.2 mmol/l (18.6%), non-HDL cholesterol >3.4 mmol/l (25.9%), TG >1.7 mmol/l (20.1%), and LDL cholesterol >3.4 mmol/l (9.6%). Age and duration were significantly related to all lipid parameters (P < 0.001); A1C was independently related to all parameters (P < 0.001) except HDL cholesterol, whereas BMI SD scores were related to all parameters (P < 0.05) except total cholesterol. Total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol were independently related to longitudinal changes in ACR (B coefficient +/- SE): 0.03 +/- 0.01/1 mmol/l, P = 0.009, and 0.32 +/- 0.014/1 mmol/l, P = 0.02, respectively. Overall mean total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol were higher in microalbuminuria positive (n = 115) than in normoalbuminuric subjects (n = 780): total cholesterol 4.7 +/- 1.2 vs. 4.5 +/- 0.8 mmol/l (P = 0.04) and non-HDL cholesterol 3.2 +/- 1.2 vs. 2.9 +/- 0.8 mmol/l (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study of adolescents with type 1 diabetes, sustained lipid abnormalities were related to age, duration, BMI, and A1C. Furthermore, ACR was related to both total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, indicating a potential role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy

Population distribution and burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in British Columbia, Canada

BACKGROUND: In developed countries, gastrointestinal illness (GI) is typically mild and self-limiting, however, it has considerable economic impact due to high morbidity. METHODS: The magnitude and distribution of acute GI in British Columbia (BC), Canada was evaluated via a cross-sectional telephone survey of 4,612 randomly selected residents, conducted from June 2002 to June 2003. Respondents were asked if they had experienced vomiting or diarrhoea in the 28 days prior to the interview. RESULTS: A response rate of 44.3% was achieved. A monthly prevalence of 9.2% (95%CI 8.4 – 10.0), an incidence rate of 1.3 (95% CI 1.1–1.4) episodes of acute GI per person-year, and an average probability that an individual developed illness in the year of 71.6% (95% CI 68.0–74.8), weighted by population size were observed. The average duration of illness was 3.7 days, translating into 19.2 million days annually of acute GI in BC. CONCLUSION: The results corroborate those from previous Canadian and international studies, highlighting the substantial burden of acute GI

Fine-Tuning Roles of Endogenous Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, TrkB and Sortilin in Colorectal Cancer Cell Survival

International audienceBACKGROUND: Neurotrophin receptors were initially identified in neural cells. They were recently detected in some cancers in association with invasiveness, but the function of these tyrosine kinase receptors was not previously investigated in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We report herein that human CRC cell lines synthesize the neural growth factor Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) under stress conditions (serum starvation). In parallel, CRC cells expressed high- (TrkB) and low-affinity (p75(NTR)) receptors at the plasma membrane, whereas TrkA and TrkC, two other high affinity receptors for NGF and NT-3, respectively, were undetectable. We demonstrate that BDNF induced cell proliferation and had an anti-apoptotic effect mediated through TrkB, as assessed by K252a, a Trk pharmacologic inhibitor. It suppressed both cell proliferation and survival of CRC cells that do not express TrkA nor TrkC. In parallel to the increase of BDNF secretion, sortilin, a protein acting as a neurotrophin transporter as well as a co-receptor for p75(NTR), was increased in the cytoplasm of primary and metastatic CRC cells, which suggests that sortilin could regulate neurotrophin transport in these cells. However, pro-BDNF, also detected in CRC cells, was co-expressed with p75(NTR) at the cell membrane and co-localized with sortilin. In contrast to BDNF, exogenous pro-BDNF induced CRC apoptosis, which suggests that a counterbalance mechanism is involved in the control of CRC cell survival, through sortilin as the co-receptor for p75(NTR), the high affinity receptor for pro-neurotrophins. Likewise, we show that BDNF and TrkB transcripts (and not p75(NTR)) are overexpressed in the patients' tumors by comparison with their adjacent normal tissues, notably in advanced stages of CRC. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results highlight that BDNF and TrkB are essential for CRC cell growth and survival in vitro and in tumors. This autocrine loop could be of major importance to define new targeted therapies

Prevalence of abnormal lipid profiles and the relationship with the development of microalbuminuria in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence of lipid abnormalities and their relationship with albumin excretion and microalbuminuria in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study population comprised 895 young subjects with type 1 diabetes (490 males); median age at the baseline assessment was 14.5 years (range 10-21.1), and median diabetes duration was 4.8 years (0.2-17). A total of 2,194 nonfasting blood samples were collected longitudinally for determination of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, TG, and non-HDL cholesterol. Additional annually collected data on anthropometric parameters, A1C, and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) were available. RESULTS: Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol were higher in females than in males (all P &lt; 0.001). A significant proportion of subjects presented sustained lipid abnormalities during follow-up: total cholesterol &gt;5.2 mmol/l (18.6%), non-HDL cholesterol &gt;3.4 mmol/l (25.9%), TG &gt;1.7 mmol/l (20.1%), and LDL cholesterol &gt;3.4 mmol/l (9.6%). Age and duration were significantly related to all lipid parameters (P &lt; 0.001); A1C was independently related to all parameters (P &lt; 0.001) except HDL cholesterol, whereas BMI SD scores were related to all parameters (P &lt; 0.05) except total cholesterol. Total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol were independently related to longitudinal changes in ACR (B coefficient +/- SE): 0.03 +/- 0.01/1 mmol/l, P = 0.009, and 0.32 +/- 0.014/1 mmol/l, P = 0.02, respectively. Overall mean total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol were higher in microalbuminuria positive (n = 115) than in normoalbuminuric subjects (n = 780): total cholesterol 4.7 +/- 1.2 vs. 4.5 +/- 0.8 mmol/l (P = 0.04) and non-HDL cholesterol 3.2 +/- 1.2 vs. 2.9 +/- 0.8 mmol/l (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal study of adolescents with type 1 diabetes, sustained lipid abnormalities were related to age, duration, BMI, and A1C. Furthermore, ACR was related to both total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, indicating a potential role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy