Motives, perceptions and experiences of electric bicycle owners and implications for health, wellbeing and mobility

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.04.006The sale of electrically assisted bicycles (‘e-bikes’) is growing at a rapid rate across Europe. Whereas market data is available describing sales trends, there is limited understanding of the experience of early adopters of e-bike technology. This paper investigates the motives for e-bike purchase, rider experience and perceived impact on mobility, health and wellbeing through in-depth interviews with e-bike owners in the Netherlands and the UK. Findings revealed that the motive for purchasing e-bikes was often to allow maintenance of cycling against a backdrop of changing individual or household circumstances. E-bikes also provided new opportunities for people who would not otherwise consider conventional cycling. Perceptions of travel behaviour change revealed that e-biking was replacing conventional cycling but was also replacing journeys that would have been made by car. There was also a perception that e-biking has increased, or at least allowed participants to maintain, some form of physical activity and had benefitted personal wellbeing. Technological, social and environmental barriers to e-biking were identified. These included weight of bicycle, battery life, purchase price, social stigma and limitations of cycle infrastructure provision. Additional research is necessary to quantify actual levels of mode substitution and new journey generation among new e-bike owners and the impact of e-biking on promoting physical health and mental wellbeing.This work was supported by The NetherlandsOrganization for Scientific Research (NWO) (434-11-010) as part of the Sustainable Accessibility of the Randstad programme. Lucas Harms undertook conceptualisation, fieldwork, analysis and writing whilst working at the Urban Cycling Institute of the University of Amsterdam. Eva Heinen undertook conceptualisation and fieldwork whilst at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen (NL), and subsequent analysis and writing under the auspices of the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UK Public Health Research Centre of Excellence funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research, and the Wellcome Trust. She is now based at the Institute of Transport Studies at the University of Leeds. We would like to thank NWO, colleagues at the University of Amsterdam, University of Groningen and Oxford Brookes University - particularly Nick Beale for proof reading. Also, to all of our participants who willingly gave up their time to provide a rich insight into their ebiking

The Perfect Song / music by Joseph Carl Breil; words by Clarence Lucas

Key of D. Cover: a photo of two men Amos n Andy (see 247); Publisher: Chappell Harms Inc. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_e/1008/thumbnail.jp

The Perfect Song / music by Joseph Carl Breil; words by Clarence Lucas

Cover: photos of Amos n Andy in blackface; musical theme of the Pepsodent Hour (see 477); Publisher: Chappell Harms Inc. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_c/1090/thumbnail.jp

Multiple Evolutionary Origins of Ubiquitous Cu2+ and Zn2+ Binding in the S100 Protein Family

The S100 proteins are a large family of signaling proteins that play critical roles in biology and disease. Many S100 proteins bind Zn2+, Cu2+, and/or Mn2+ as part of their biological functions; however, the evolutionary origins of binding remain obscure. One key question is whether divalent transition metal binding is ancestral, or instead arose independently on multiple lineages. To tackle this question, we combined phylogenetics with biophysical characterization of modern S100 proteins. We demonstrate an earlier origin for established S100 subfamilies than previously believed, and reveal that transition metal binding is widely distributed across the tree. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, we found that Cu2+ and Zn2+ binding are common features of the family: the full breadth of human S100 paralogs—as well as two early-branching S100 proteins found in the tunicate Oikopleura dioica—bind these metals with μM affinity and stoichiometries ranging from 1:1 to 3:1 (metal:protein). While binding is consistent across the tree, structural responses to binding are quite variable. Further, mutational analysis and structural modeling revealed that transition metal binding occurs at different sites in different S100 proteins. This is consistent with multiple origins of transition metal binding over the evolution of this protein family. Our work reveals an evolutionary pattern in which the overall phenotype of binding is a constant feature of S100 proteins, even while the site and mechanism of binding is evolutionarily labile

Efectos del entrenamiento de la musculatura respiratoria sobre el rendimiento.

Actualmente, es aceptado por la comunidad científica que el sistema respiratorio puede limitar el ejercicio en personas con enfermedad pulmonar y/o cardiovascular. El objetivo del presente artículo es la revisión de algunos estudios realizados en relación al papel limitante del sistema respiratorio en el rendimiento físico de deportistas. Se realiza una breve descripción técnica de los dispositivos más utilizados para el entrenamiento de la musculatura respiratoria. Finalmente, se presentan los resultados más representativos, obtenidos por diversos investigadores y en distintas poblaciones, relacionados con el entrenamiento de la musculatura respiratoria y sus efectos en el rendimiento físico. Los resultados obtenidos en las distintas investigaciones consultadas sobre el entrenamiento de los músculos respiratorios son dispares, puesto que algunos han mostrado mejoras significativas, mientras otros no han mostrado grandes efectos en el rendimiento. En todos ellos se refleja cómo el sistema respiratorio es un factor limitante del rendimiento físico en deportistas y es preciso plantearse nuevas metodologías, protocolos y planificaciones en el entrenamiento deportivo. El entrenamiento de los músculos respiratorios, tanto mediante dispositivos umbral, de resistencia, o isocapnica, puede provocar mejoras en valores como la presión inspiratoria máxima y mejoras en el rendimiento de algunos deportes; sin embargo, son muy escasos los estudios que han encontrado mejoras en el consumo máximo de oxígeno (VO2max). Las discrepancias entre los estudios analizados pueden estar provocadas por diferencias en las intensidades y duración de los ejercicios utilizados, así como por diferencias en el diseño experimental y el nivel de condición física de los sujetos

Chemical preservation of tail feathers from Anchiornis huxleyi, a theropod dinosaur from the Tiaojishan Formation (Upper Jurassic, China)

A panel of geochemical techniques is used here to investigate the taphonomy of fossil feathers preserved in association with the skeleton of the Jurassic theropod Anchiornis huxleyi. Extant feathers were analysed in parallel to test whether the soft tissues morphologically preserved in the fossil also exhibit a high degree of chemical preservation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) indicate that clays and iron oxide pseudomorphs occur in the surrounding sediment and also reveal the preservation of melanosome‐like microbodies in the fossil. Carbon gradient along a depth profile and co‐occurrence of carbon and sulphur are shown in the fossil by elastic backscattering (EBS) and particle‐induced x‐ray emission (PIXE), which are promising techniques for the elemental analysis of fossil soft tissues. The molecular composition of modern and fossil soft tissues was assessed from micro‐attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro‐ATR FTIR), solid‐state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (CP‐MAS 13C NMR) and pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry in the presence of TMAH (TMAH‐Py‐GC‐MS). Results indicate that the proteinaceous material that comprises the modern feathers is not present in the fossil feathers. The fossil feathers and the embedding sediment exhibit a highly aliphatic character. However, substantial differences exist between these samples, revealing that the organic matter of the fossil feathers is, at least partially, derived from original constituents of the feathers. Our results suggest that, despite the morphological preservation of Anchiornis feathers, original proteins, that is keratin, were probably not preserved in the 160‐myr‐old feathers

Continuous fungal treatment of non-sterile veterinary hospital effluent: pharmaceuticals removal and microbial community assessment

Source point treatment of effluents with a high load of pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), such as hospital wastewater, is a matter of discussion among the scientific community. Fungal treatments have been reported to be successful in degrading this type of pollutants and, therefore, the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor was applied for the removal of PhACs from veterinary hospital wastewater. Sixty-six percent removal was achieved in a non-sterile batch bioreactor inoculated with T. versicolor pellets. On the other hand, the study of microbial communities by means of DGGE and phylogenetic analyses led us to identify some microbial interactions and helped us moving to a continuous process. PhAC removal efficiency achieved in the fungal treatment operated in non-sterile continuous mode was 44 % after adjusting the C/N ratio with respect to the previously calculated one for sterile treatments. Fungal and bacterial communities in the continuous bioreactors were monitored as well.Authors want to acknowledge the UAB veterinary hospital staff for their kind permission and help for the samplings. This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER (projects CTM2013-48545-C2 and AIB2010PT-00169) and supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups 2014-SGR-476 and 2014-SGR-291). The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) is a member of the Xarxa de Referencia en Biotecnologia de la Generalitat de Catalunya. M. Badia-Fabregat and D. Lucas acknowledge the predoctoral grants from UAB and from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (AP-2010-4926), respectively. The authors also thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462 co-funded by Operational Competitiveness Programme, FEDER, and Project "BioEnv-Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world," REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000048, co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER