1,007 research outputs found
Sustainable freight: impacts of the London congestion charge and low emissions zone
This paper assesses whether two sustainability policies currently in effect in London, a congestion charge zone and a low emission zone, have affected freight operations and reduced vehicle kilometers travelled. It investigates responses by freight operators, including re-timing, re-routing, or reducing the number of trips, or replacing vehicles. Freight traffic trends from 1994 to 2012 were identified using road traffic estimates, cordon counts, and vehicle speed data and supplemented by interviews with freight industry experts and operators. Findings indicate that freight traffic increased throughout London during this timeframe, but declined in the central boroughs partly within the congestion charge zone. The congestion charge may have time-shifted some light goods trips, but most freight trips face a variety of constraints on operators’ delivery window. No evidence was found of re-routing of freight traffic or avoidance traffic around the charged zone. The low emission zone spurred higher levels of operational change than the congestion charge zone, and it was effective at spurring freight vehicle replacement. The paper also discusses freight operators’ perceptions of these policies and how they could be improved
Evaluation of Vascular Control Mechanisms Utilizing Video Microscopy of Isolated Resistance Arteries of Rats
This protocol describes the use of in vitro television microscopy to evaluate vascular function in isolated cerebral resistance arteries (and other vessels), and describes techniques for evaluating tissue perfusion using Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) and microvessel density utilizing fluorescently labeled Griffonia simplicifolia (GS1) lectin. Current methods for studying isolated resistance arteries at transmural pressures encountered in vivo and in the absence of parenchymal cell influences provide a critical link between in vivo studies and information gained from molecular reductionist approaches that provide limited insight into integrative responses at the whole animal level. LDF and techniques to selectively identify arterioles and capillaries with fluorescently-labeled GS1 lectin provide practical solutions to enable investigators to extend the knowledge gained from studies of isolated resistance arteries. This paper describes the application of these techniques to gain fundamental knowledge of vascular physiology and pathology in the rat as a general experimental model, and in a variety of specialized genetically engineered designer rat strains that can provide important insight into the influence of specific genes on important vascular phenotypes. Utilizing these valuable experimental approaches in rat strains developed by selective breeding strategies and new technologies for producing gene knockout models in the rat, will expand the rigor of scientific premises developed in knockout mouse models and extend that knowledge to a more relevant animal model, with a well understood physiological background and suitability for physiological studies because of its larger size
X-Ray Flashes in Recurrent Novae: M31N 2008-12a and the Implications of the Swift Non-detection
Models of nova outbursts suggest that an X-ray flash should occur just after
hydrogen ignition. However, this X-ray flash has never been observationally
confirmed. We present four theoretical light curves of the X-ray flash for two
very massive white dwarfs (WDs) of 1.380 and 1.385 M_sun and for two recurrence
periods of 0.5 and 1 years. The duration of the X-ray flash is shorter for a
more massive WD and for a longer recurrence period. The shortest duration of 14
hours (0.6 days) among the four cases is obtained for the 1.385 M_sun WD with
one year recurrence period. In general, a nova explosion is relatively weak for
a very short recurrence period, which results in a rather slow evolution toward
the optical peak. This slow timescale and the predictability of very short
recurrence period novae give us a chance to observe X-ray flashes of recurrent
novae. In this context, we report the first attempt, using the Swift
observatory, to detect an X-ray flash of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a (0.5
or 1 year recurrence period), which resulted in the non-detection of X-ray
emission during the period of 8 days before the optical detection. We discuss
the impact of these observations on nova outburst theory. The X-ray flash is
one of the last frontiers of nova studies and its detection is essentially
important to understand the pre-optical-maximum phase. We encourage further
observations.Comment: 12 pages, including 9 figures and 3 tables. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journa
EGF Deficiency in the Renal Cortex Contributes to Salt-Sensitive Hypertension via Upregulation of ENaC Activity
Metamagnetism and critical fluctuations in high quality single crystals of the bilayer ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7
We report the results of low temperature transport, specific heat and
magnetisation measurements on high quality single crystals of the bilayer
perovskite Sr3Ru2O7, which is a close relative of the unconventional
superconductor Sr2RuO4. Metamagnetism is observed, and transport and
thermodynamic evidence for associated critical fluctuations is presented. These
relatively unusual fluctuations might be pictured as variations in the Fermi
surface topography itself. No equivalent behaviour has been observed in the
metallic state of Sr2RuO4.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Revtex 3.
Efficient index handling of multidimensional periodic boundary conditions
An efficient method is described to handle mesh indexes in multidimensional
problems like numerical integration of partial differential equations, lattice
model simulations, and determination of atomic neighbor lists. By creating an
extended mesh, beyond the periodic unit cell, the stride in memory between
equivalent pairs of mesh points is independent of their position within the
cell. This allows to contract the mesh indexes of all dimensions into a single
index, avoiding modulo and other implicit index operations.Comment: 2 pages, 0 figure
Age- and sex-dependent role of osteocytic pannexin1 on bone and muscle mass and strength
Pannexins (Panxs), glycoproteins that oligomerize to form hemichannels on the cell membrane, are topologically similar to connexins, but do not form cell-to-cell gap junction channels. There are 3 members of the family, 1-3, with Panx1 being the most abundant. All Panxs are expressed in bone, but their role in bone cell biology is not completely understood. We now report that osteocytic Panx1 deletion (Panx1Δot) alters bone mass and strength in female mice. Bone mineral density after reaching skeletal maturity is higher in female Panx1Δot mice than in control Panx1fl/fl mice. Further, osteocytic Panx1 deletion partially prevented aging effects on cortical bone structure and mechanical properties. Young 4-month-old female Panx1Δot mice exhibited increased lean body mass, even though pannexin levels in skeletal muscle were not affected; whereas no difference in lean body mass was detected in male mice. Furthermore, female Panx1-deficient mice exhibited increased muscle mass without changes in strength, whereas Panx1Δot males showed unchanged muscle mass and decreased in vivo maximum plantarflexion torque, indicating reduced muscle strength. Our results suggest that osteocytic Panx1 deletion increases bone mass in young and old female mice and muscle mass in young female mice, but has deleterious effects on muscle strength only in males
CMB-S4 Science Book, First Edition
This book lays out the scientific goals to be addressed by the
next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background experiment, CMB-S4,
envisioned to consist of dedicated telescopes at the South Pole, the high
Chilean Atacama plateau and possibly a northern hemisphere site, all equipped
with new superconducting cameras. CMB-S4 will dramatically advance cosmological
studies by crossing critical thresholds in the search for the B-mode
polarization signature of primordial gravitational waves, in the determination
of the number and masses of the neutrinos, in the search for evidence of new
light relics, in constraining the nature of dark energy, and in testing general
relativity on large scales
CD8 Epitope Escape and Reversion in Acute HCV Infection
In the setting of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, robust HCV-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses are associated with initial control of viremia. Despite these responses, 70–80% of individuals develop persistent infection. Although viral escape from CD8 responses has been illustrated in the chimpanzee model of HCV infection, the effect of CD8 selection pressure on viral evolution and containment in acute HCV infection in humans remains unclear. Here, we examined viral evolution in an immunodominant human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B8–restricted NS3 epitope in subjects with acute HCV infection. Development of mutations within the epitope coincided with loss of strong ex vivo tetramer and interferon γ enzyme-linked immunospot responses, and endogenous expression of variant NS3 sequences suggested that the selected mutations altered processing and presentation of the variant epitope. Analysis of NS3 sequences from 30 additional chronic HCV-infected subjects revealed a strong association between sequence variation within this region and expression of HLA-B8, supporting reproducible allele-specific selection pressures at the population level. Interestingly, transmission of an HLA-B8–associated escape mutation to an HLA-B8 negative subject resulted in rapid reversion of the mutation. Together, these data indicate that viral escape from CD8+ T cell responses occurs during human HCV infection and that acute immune selection pressure is of sufficient magnitude to influence HCV evolution
Multidisciplinary teams, and parents, negotiating common ground in shared-care of children with long-term conditions: A mixed methods study
Background: Limited negotiation around care decisions is believed to undermine collaborative working between parents of children with long-term conditions and professionals, but there is little evidence of how they actually negotiate their respective roles. Using chronic kidney disease as an exemplar this paper reports on a multi-method study of social interaction between multidisciplinary teams and parents as they shared clinical care. Methods. Phases 1 and 2: a telephone survey mapping multidisciplinary teams' parent-educative activities, and qualitative interviews with 112 professionals (Clinical-psychologists, Dietitians, Doctors, Nurses, Play-specialists, Pharmacists, Therapists and Social-workers) exploring their accounts of parent-teaching in the 12 British children's kidney units. Phase 3: six ethnographic case studies in two units involving observations of professional/parent interactions during shared-care, and individual interviews. We used an analytical framework based on concepts drawn from Communities of Practice and Activity Theory. Results: Professionals spoke of the challenge of explaining to each other how they are aware of parents' understanding of clinical knowledge, and described three patterns of parent-educative activity that were common across MDTs: Engaging parents in shared practice; Knowledge exchange and role negotiation, and Promoting common ground. Over time, professionals had developed a shared repertoire of tools to support their negotiations with parents that helped them accomplish common ground during the practice of shared-care. We observed mutual engagement between professionals and parents where a common understanding of the joint enterprise of clinical caring was negotiated. Conclusions: For professionals, making implicit knowledge explicit is important as it can provide them with a language through which to articulate more clearly to each other what is the basis of their intuition-based hunches about parents' support needs, and may help them to negotiate with parents and accelerate parents' learning about shared caring. Our methodology and results are potentially transferrable to shared management of other conditions. © 2013 Swallow et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd
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