Planning for Secure Surface Bus Stops in Toronto

This paper evaluates the ways spatial planning understands and engages with personal security through a study of inner-suburban surface transit stops in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Although often considered by planning, personal security does not appear to be subjected to the same level of attention as other design and planning priorities. The foundation for this study was a review of security focussed criminological, spatial planning, and a small quantity of legal texts in order to analyze overlaps and deviations. This was followed by analysis of relationship between personal security and the city’s public transit operator, the Toronto Transit Commission, through a review of historical texts and current policy documents guiding surface transit stop placement and design. The final component of this paper is a discussion of an audit of the design and placement of a selection of conventional bus stops in inner-suburban areas. Overall, there are indications that some progress is being made in addressing personal security but there is still significant room for improvement

Multipath Load Balancing Routing for Internet of Things

In the next-generation technology, Internet of Things (IoT), billions of smart objects will communicate with one another to make human lives more convenient. IoT is based on wireless sensor network (WSN), and Zigbee is one of the most popular WSN protocols. A mature IoT environment involves heavy WSN data transmission causing bottleneck problems. However, Zigbee’s AODV routing stack does not have load balance mechanism to handle bursty traffic. Therefore, we develop Multipath Load Balancing (MLB) Routing to substitute Zigbee’s AODV routing. Our proposed MLB consists of two main designs: LAYER_DESIGN and LOAD_BALANCE. LAYER_DESIGN assigns nodes into different layers based on node distance to IoT gateway. Nodes can have multiple next-hops delivering IoT data. All neighboring layer nodes exchange flow information containing current load, used by LOAD_BALANCE to estimate future load of next-hops. With MLB, nodes can choose the neighbors with the least load as the next-hops and thus can achieve load balance and avoid bottlenecks. Compared with Zigbee’s AODV and multipath version AODV (AOMDV), experiment results demonstrate that MLB achieves better load balance, lower packet loss rate, and better routing connectivity ratio in both grid and random uniform topologies. MLB provides a more convincing routing solution for IoT applications

Analysis of Mono-, Di- and Oligosaccharides by CE Using a Two-Stage Derivatization Method and LIF Detection.

A sensitive CE with LIF method has been developed for quantitative analysis of small carbohydrates. In this work, 17 carbohydrates including mono-, di- and oligosaccharides were simultaneously derivatized with 4-fluoro 7-nitrobenzo furazane (NBD-F) via a twostep reaction involving reductive amination with ammonia followed by condensation with NBD-F. Under the optimized derivatization conditions all carbo-hydrates were successfully derivatized within 2.5 h and separated within 15 min using borate buffer (90 mmol/L, pH 9.2). For sugar standards LODs were in the range of 49.7 to 243.6 nmol/L. Migration time and peak area reproducibility were better than RSD 0.1 and 3%, respectively. The method was applied to measure sugars in nanoliter volume samples of phloem sap obtained by stylectomy from wheat and to honeydew samples obtained from aphids feeding from wheat and willow

Precision in treatment evaluation: importance of minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) of outcome measures for autoimmune blistering diseases

Autoimmune blistering diseases (AIBDs) comprise a group of rare conditions marked by autoantibodies that specifically target intercellular adhesion molecules. Despite the progress made in comprehending the disease and the increasing number of treatment options available, there is still no definitive cure for AIBDs such as pemphigus, and it continues to have a devastating impact on those affected. The challenges in achieving new approved therapies for AIBDs are complex and multifaceted. One significant obstacle was the prior lack of validated and standardized outcome measures, which are crucial for ensuring precise comparisons between new and traditional therapies. This gap in knowledge has prompted the development of minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs), which enable efficient and reliable comparison of therapeutic outcomes between trials. MCID is defined as the minimum difference in an outcome measure that indicates a clinically significant improvement/deterioration in disease severity. Additionally, MCIDs provide a patient-centered approach to evaluating treatment efficacy, by considering whether patients experience a subjective improvement in their symptoms. Therefore, this literature review will examine the derivation and significance of MCIDs for various scoring systems in AIBDs

Social marketing for a farmer’s market in an underserved community: A needs assessment

The aim of the present paper is to assess local residents’ awareness of utilizing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase fresh produce at local farmers’ markets, and to determine internet use and media preferences of study participants prior to implementation of a social marketing campaign. A needs assessment was conducted to collect baseline data in an underserved neighbourhood in New Orleans (LA, USA). The study was carried out August 2014-May 2015. The assessment revealed that 73% of the respondents were unaware that the SNAP benefits could be used to purchase food in farmers’ markets; 63% of low-income participants never attended a farmers’ market compared to 27% of mid/high-income. Over 50% of the low-income respondents have access to the internet at least once per day. The results show the potential of raising awareness among a wide range of members in the community. This needs assessment will serve as the foundation for a social marketing intervention, which will be disseminated city-wide

Dopaminergic effects on in vitro osteogenesis

Multiple growth factors (e.g., BMP2, TGF-β1, FGF2) and isolated genes have been shown to improve osteoblastic proliferation and mineralization, advancing bone tissue engineering. Among these factors, both polydopamine (PDA) and dopamine (DA) monomer have recently been reported to increase osteoblast proliferation and mineralization in vitro. Although a well-characterized neurotransmitter, DA’s role in the bone is unknown. We hypothesize that DA can directly act on osteoblasts, and examined whether osteoblasts express DA receptors that respond to exogenous DA. mRNAs and protein cell lysates were obtained from MC3T3-E1 cells during osteogenic differentiation phase. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were used to examine the expression of DA receptors, D1–D5. Dose-response effect and time course of DA treatment on cell proliferation, mineralization, and osteogenic differentiation were investigated at pre-determined days. Real-time PCR was performed to investigate whether DA affects osteogenic gene expression (ALP, BSP, OC, OSX, RUNX2, and Collagen1a2) with or without receptor antagonists (SCH233390 and GR103691). Two-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. All five DA receptors (D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5) mRNAs and proteins were expressed in MC3T3-E1 cells. DA treatment increased cell proliferation for up to 7 days (P < 0.05). Osteogenic mineralization was significantly greater in the DA-treated group than control group (P < 0.05). Finally, expression of all the osteogenic genes was inhibited by DA receptor antagonists for D1, D3, and D5. Our findings suggest that MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts express functional DA receptors that enhance proliferation and mineralization. PDA is not biologically inert and has important implications in orthopedic applications. Furthermore, osteoblast differentiation might be regulated by the nervous system, presumably during bone development, remodeling, or repair

Self-management practices of smokers with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cross-sectional survey

Background Adherence to self-management recommendations is critical for patients with chronic disease. Compared to nonsmokers, smokers with conditions such as diabetes, HIV, and heart disease are less likely to adhere to provider recommendations. Regarding lung disease, asthma and COPD can be caused and/or exacerbated by smoking, however little is known on the relationship between adherence and smoking status in these patients. The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship between smoking status and adherence to multiple measures of self-care- including medication taking, medication filling, appointment keeping, yearly vaccinations, carrying medical supplies, and healthcare utilization- in patients with asthma and/or COPD. In addition to smoking status, we also included an examination of these measures by race/ethnicity, gender, and diagnosis. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional design on a convenience sample of n = 84 patients (40–64 years old) with a diagnosis of asthma and/or COPD. The study was conducted between November 2015 and February 2016 in the waiting rooms of the outpatient pulmonary clinics at the University Medical Center of New Orleans. Patients completed surveys while awaiting their clinic appointments. Smoking status, gender, race, and diagnosis were explored as predictors of adherence using descriptive statistics, chi square, and regression analyses. Results Compared to nonsmokers, smokers were less adherent to medication filling (p < 0.0001), medication taking (p = 0.04), and having yearly vaccinations than nonsmokers (p = 0.003). Independent of smoking status, differences across self-care measures were also found based on respondent diagnosis, race, and gender. Conclusion Smoking was associated with lower levels of adherence across multiple measures of self-care. By identifying self-management practices that are most difficult for smokers to follow, researchers can develop interventions that target these behaviors. Future studies should further this research by exploring reasons for poor adherence in smokers as well as address barriers that inhibit self-care