The value of recreational areas in urban regions

Rietveld, P. [Promotor]Rouwendal, J. [Promotor

Nature-based outdoor recreation trips:Duration, travel mode and location

This paper studies the allocation of time to outdoor recreation trips in various natural environment types. We merge a multiple discrete-continuous demand system for time allocation with a discrete choice model for destination and travel mode choice. Accessibility enters the time allocation model through the logsum of the travel mode/destination choice stage. The model is estimated on data for the Netherlands, which was gathered through an activity diary approach that covers one entire year. Our model shows that personal characteristics, household characteristics, contextual variables and accessibility all augment the allocation of time to the set of natural environment types. The resulting estimates allow us to evaluate outdoor recreation policy initiatives, and we simulate the impact of changes in the availability of natural environment types with a constrained optimization approach. We show that time allocation changes are rather small with our simulated policy initiative, but have the intended effect on the group of consumers which the policy initiative aims for

WNT-5A:signaling and functions in health and disease

WNT-5A plays critical roles in a myriad of processes from embryonic morphogenesis to the maintenance of post-natal homeostasis. WNT-5A knock-out mice fail to survive and present extensive structural malformations. WNT-5A predominantly activates β-catenin-independent WNT signaling cascade but can also activate β-catenin signaling to relay its diverse cellular effects such as cell polarity, migration, proliferation, cell survival, and immunomodulation. Moreover, aberrant WNT-5A signaling is associated with several human pathologies such as cancer, fibrosis, and inflammation. Thus, owing to its diverse functions, WNT-5A is a crucial signaling molecule currently under intense investigation with efforts to not only delineate its signaling mechanisms and functions in physiological and pathological conditions, but also to develop strategies for its therapeutic targeting

Cholinergic Regulation of Airway Inflammation and Remodelling

Acetylcholine is the predominant parasympathetic neurotransmitter in the airways that regulates bronchoconstriction and mucus secretion. Recent findings suggest that acetylcholine regulates additional functions in the airways, including inflammation and remodelling during inflammatory airway diseases. Moreover, it has become apparent that acetylcholine is synthesized by nonneuronal cells and tissues, including inflammatory cells and structural cells. In this paper, we will discuss the regulatory role of acetylcholine in inflammation and remodelling in which we will focus on the role of the airway smooth muscle cell as a target cell for acetylcholine that modulates inflammation and remodelling during respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD

Acetylcholine beyond bronchoconstriction:Roles in inflammation and remodeling

Acetylcholine is the primary parasympathetic neurotrans. mitter in the airways, where it not only induces bronchoconstriction and mucus secretion, but also regulates airway inflammation and remodeling. In this review, we propose that these effects are all primarily mediated via the muscarinic M-3 receptor. Acetylcholine promotes inflammation and remodeling via direct effects on airway cells, and via mechanical stress applied to the airways sequential to bronchoconstriction. The effects on inflammation and remodeling are regulated by both neuronal and non-neuronal acetylcholine. Taken together, we believe that the combined effects of anticholinergic therapy on M-3-mediated bronchoconstriction, mucus secretion, inflammation, and remodeling may account for the positive outcome of treatment with these drugs for patients with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) or asthma.</p