Green Loop SWPDX Concept Plan: Alignment and Design Treatment Recommendations for the Southwest Green Loop

The Green Loop SWPDX project was conducted by five students in partnership with the Portland Bureau of Planning & Sustainability Urban Design Studio and Portland State University\u27s Campus Planning Office. It explores potential alignments and design treatments for Portland\u27s Green Loop, specifically with the southwest downtown quardrant of the Central City. The southwest quadrant of the Green Loop links the South Park Blocks to the non-automobile Tilikum Crossing bridge. The Green Loop SWPDX project explores both large and small-scale possibilities for creating a sense of safety and a place for cyclists and pedestrians in the Central City. This document reports on the results of a variety of research and makes recommendations for the alignment of the Green Loop and how it might be designed in ways that respect the distinct characteristics of its various segments. This project was conducted under the supervision of Sy Adler Marisa Zapata and Susan Harnett

The Green Loop SWPDX Workshop Project

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability proposes the construction of the Green Loop, a 10-mile linear public open space proposed in the West Quadrant Plan update that will further link the east and west sides of the Central City. In addition to physically affirming both sides of the river as part of the Central City, the Green Loop is expected to create a second ring of pedestrian and bicycle access, much like the East Bank Esplanade and Tom McCall Waterfront Park, that will draw activity to retail further from the river.The Green Loop addresses both the City of Portland’s Climate Action Plan goals of reducing personal vehicle reliance, improving active lifestyles and adding green infrastructure; and filling a transportation gap between two significant university campuses. Portland is also interested in attracting the “interested but concerned” to active transportation. In order to do so, it must provide a bike pedestrian facility that creates the kind of safety and security this group needs. The purpose of the Green Loop SWPDX project is to explore design concepts and treatments that will create an identity for the Green Loop section between the Tilikum Bridge and the South Park Blocks. A team of 5 Portland State University master’s in urban and regional planning students performed both qualitative and quantitative analysis of this stretch of the Loop. This presentation reports the findings of their research and how it will affect their recommendations. Themes from their findings include safety, activity, facilities and placemaking that will make the Green Loop an ideal facility for the interested but concerned group of users.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_seminar/1078/thumbnail.jp

Does routine postoperative contrast radiography improve outcomes for patients with perforated peptic ulcer? A multicenter retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Perforated peptic ulcer is a morbid emergency general surgery condition. Best practices for postoperative care remain undefined. Surgical dogma preaches practices such as peritoneal drain placement, prolonged nil per os, and routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging despite a lack of evidence. We aimed to evaluate the role of postoperative enteral contrast imaging in postoperative perforated peptic ulcer care. Our primary objective was to assess effects of routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging on early detection of clinically significant leaks. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent repair of perforated peptic ulcer between July 2016 and June 2018. We compared outcomes between those who underwent routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging and those who did not. RESULTS: Our analysis included 95 patients who underwent primary/omental patch repair. The mean age was 60 years, and 54% were male. Thirteen (14%) had a leak. Eighty percent of patients had a drain placed. Nine patients had leaks diagnosed based on bilious drain output without routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging. Use of routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging varied significantly between institutions (30%-87%). Two late leaks after initial normal postoperative enteral contrast imaging were confirmed by imaging after a clinical change triggered the second study. Two patients had contained leaks identified by routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging but remained clinically well. Duration of hospital stay was longer in those who received routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging (12 vs 6 days, median; P = .000). CONCLUSION: Routine postoperative enteral contrast imaging after perforated peptic ulcer repair likely does not improve the detection of clinically significant leaks and is associated with increased duration of hospital stay

The CP4 transgene provides high levels of tolerance to Roundup® herbicide in field-grown hybrid poplars

We tested two genes together in hybrid poplars (genus Populus), CP4 and GOX, for imparting tolerance to glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup® herbicide). Using Agrobacterium-based transformation, 80 independent transgenic lines (i.e., products of asexual gene transfer) were produced in a variety of hybrid poplar clones (40 lines in Populus trichocarpa Torr. & Gray × Populus deltoides Bartr., 35 lines in Populus tremula L. × Populus alba L., and five lines in P. tremula × Populus tremuloides Michx.). We evaluated glyphosate tolerance over 2 years in field studies conducted in eastern and western Oregon. Ten percent of our transgenic lines showed no foliar damage or reduced growth after being sprayed with Roundup® at concentrations above normal commercial rates. Lack of damage was associated with expression of the CP4 gene but not of the GOX gene. It was suspected that GOX caused undesirable side effects, so we produced 12 lines into which only the CP4 gene was inserted. The performance of these newly regenerated lines was compared with an identical number of lines, produced in the same genotype, that had previously been engineered to contain both CP4 and GOX. Growth of the lines transformed with just CP4 was significantly better than those containing both genes and exhibited less damage in response to glyphosate treatment. This is the first report of transgenic poplars exhibiting high levels of glyphosate tolerance when grown under field conditions. With a modest transformation effort, it is possible to produce lines with commercially useful levels of glyphosate tolerance and little apparent collateral genetic damage.Les auteurs ont étudié l’effet combiné de deux gènes chez des peupliers hybrides (genre Populus), CP4 et GOX, qui confèrent la tolérance au glyphosate (l’ingrédient actif de l’herbicide Roundup©). À l’aide de la transformation par Agrobacterium, 80 lignées transgéniques indépendantes (i.e., les produits du transfert génétique asexué) ont été produites à partir d’une variété de clones de peupliers hybrides (40 lignées de Populus trichocarpa Torr. & Gray × Populus deltoides, 35 lignées de Populus tremula L. × Populus alba L. et cinq lignées de P. tremula × Populus tremuloides Michx). La tolérance au glyphosate a été évaluée pendant 2 ans dans des dispositifs au champ établis dans l’est et l’ouest de l’Oregon. Dix pour cent des lignées transgéniques n’ont pas subi de dommages foliaires ou de réduction de croissance après avoir été arrosées avec du Roundup© à des concentrations supérieures à celles normalement utilisées commercialement. L’absence de dommages était associée à l’expression du gène CP4 mais pas à celle du gène GOX. Soupçonnant que le gène GOX pouvait causer des effets secondaires indésirables, les auteurs ont produit 12 lignées comportant uniquement le gène CP4. La performance de ces nouvelles lignées régénérées a été comparée à celle d’un nombre identique de lignées produites à partir du même génotype mais comportant les deux gènes CP4 et GOX. La croissance des lignées comportant uniquement le gène CP4 était significativement supérieure à celle des lignées comportant les deux gènes, en plus de subir moins de dommages en réponse au traitement au glyphosate. Cette étude est la première à rapporter que des peupliers transgéniques démontrent un degré élevé de tolérance au glyphosate en conditions de croissance au champ. On peut, avec un modeste effort de transformation, produire des lignées dotées d’un degré commercialement utile de tolérance au glyphosate sans grands dommages secondaires apparents au plan génétique

Individual differences underlying susceptibility to addiction: role for the endogenous oxytocin system

Recent research shows that the effects of oxytocin are more diverse than initially thought and that in some cases oxytocin can directly influence the response to drugs and alcohol. Large individual differences in basal oxytocin levels and reactivity of the oxytocin system exist. This paper will review the literature to explore how individual differences in the oxytocin system arise and examine the hypothesis that this may mediate some of the individual differences in susceptibility to addiction and relapse. Differences in the oxytocin system can be based on individual factors, e.g. genetic variation especially in the oxytocin receptor, age or gender, or be the result of early environmental influences such as social experiences, stress or trauma. The paper addresses the factors that cause individual differences in the oxytocin system and the environmental factors that have been identified to induce long-term changes in the developing oxytocin system during different life phases. Individual differences in the oxytocin system can influence effects of drugs and alcohol directly or indirectly. The oxytocin system has bidirectional interactions with the stress-axis, autonomic nervous system, neurotransmitter systems (e.g. dopamine, serotonin and GABA/glutamate) and the immune system. These systems are all important, even vital, in different phases of addiction. It is suggested that early life adversity can change the development of the oxytocin system and the way it modulates other systems. This in turn could minimise the negative feedback loops that would normally exist. Individuals may show only minor differences in behaviour and function unless subsequent stressors or drug use challenges the system. It is postulated that at that time individual differences in oxytocin levels, reactivity of the system or interactions with other systems can influence general resilience, drug effects and the susceptibility to develop problematic drug and alcohol use.Femke T.A. Buisman-Pijlman, Nicole M. Sumracki, Jake J. Gordon, Philip R. Hull, C. Sue Carter, MattieTop