Geometrical and functional criteria as a methodological approach to implement a new cycle path in an existing Urban Road Network: A Case study in Rome

Most road accidents occur in urban areas and notably at urban intersections, where cyclists and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable. In the last few years, cycling mobility has been growing; therefore, bike infrastructures should be designed to encourage this type of mobility and reduce motorized and/or private transport. The paper presents a study to implement a new cycle path in the existing cycle and road network in Rome, Italy. The geometric design of the new path complies with Italian standards regarding the technical characteristics of bicycle paths, while the Highway Capacity Manual has been considered for the traffic analysis. In particular, a before-after approach has been adopted to examine and compare the traffic flow at more complex and congested intersections where the cycle path will pass. Trams, buses, cars, bikes and pedestrians were the traffic components considered in each analysis. The software package PTV VISSIM 8 allowed the simulations of traffic flows at traffic-light intersections; an original linear process has been proposed to model dynamic intelligent traffic controls, which are not admitted by the software used. The traffic analysis allowed the identification of the best option for each of the five examined intersections. Particularly, the maximum queue length value and the total number of passed vehicles have been considered in order to optimize the transport planning process. The results of this study highlight the importance of providing engineered solutions when a cycle path is implemented in a complex road network, in order to avoid negative impacts on the citizens and maximize the expected advantages

Youth Homelessness and Rapid Re-Housing Programs in Rhode Island

Major: Public and Community Service Faculty Mentor: Dr. Keith Morton, Public and Community Service The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of Rapid Re-Housing programs in Rhode Island for youth 18-24. There is currently no published research that addresses the satisfaction or effectiveness of Rapid Re-Housing from the perspectives of the youth that are using the services. Additionally, youth are not included in conversations about the creation of these programs. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to shed light on youth’s experiences and dive into their evaluations and suggestions for the future of Rapid Re-Housing. I conducted oral testimony interviews with two youth between the ages of 18-24 who lived in Rapid Re-Housing Programs created by the 501(3)c non-profit, Foster Forward. I also interviewed the Director of Evaluation & Quality Improvement at Foster Forward and the Youth Services Manager at Community Care Alliance in order to understand multiple perspectives on the housing programs

Runway veer‐off risk analysis. An international airport case study

Runway excursions are the main risk for runway safety: operational protection areas mitigate the effects of events classified as veer‐off, overrun, and undershoot. This paper presents a methodology for the quantitative risk assessment of runway veer‐off in an international airport whose name will not be revealed for privacy reasons. The proposed methodology is based on similar principles adopted in other aviation risk analyses. The Real Level of Safety (RLS) related to the veer-off accident was calculated through the implementation of a retrospective analysis that permits to define a frequency model, a location model and a consequence model. Instead, Target Level of Safety (TLS) was defined through the risk matrix and acceptability criteria present in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Safety Management Manual. Finally, the risk of veer‐off accidents in the airport under evaluation was determined by using primary data provided by the airport management body. Risk values were calculated in more than 1300 points around the runway and they were used to assess the current level of safety. The authors present a risk map that allows identifying the areas in the strip with the highest risk of a veer‐off accident. The obtained results demonstrate that the developed methodology represents a useful tool to define TLS and to assess whether infrastructural and operational modification need to obtain the required level of safety

Evaluation of an experimental botropic antivenom produced with venom blocked with Na2-EDTA

Snake envenoming is a serious medical problem in tropical developing countries and antivenoms are the only effective therapy. Antisera are produced by immunizing horses with snake venom and adjuvant, usually Freund´s adjuvant. Botropic venoms contain metalloproteinases (SVMPs), responsible for the local effects of envenoming, such as hemorrhage, edema and myotoxicity as well as systemic bleeding. SVMPs represent around 34,2 % of the protein composition from B. diporus venom and causing lesions during the immunization of animals. In search of new processes, focused on animal welfare for the production immunobiologicals, and taking into account that the toxic action of SVMPs is inhibited by Na2-EDTA, in the present work, the immune response of animals inoculated with B.diporus venom blocked with Na2-EDTA was evaluated. For this proposal, the B. diporus venom (1,9 mg/mL) was blocked by Na2-EDTA (200 mM, B.dV/ Na2-EDTA) and used as antigen. Previously to the inoculation, the excess of chelate was removed by molecular exclusion chromatography (Sephadex G-25). Likewise, the venom without inhibitor (B.dV) received the same treatment and in both cases, the effective neutralization of SVMPs using azocasein as substrate was determined. Group of 5 CF-1 mice were immunized subcutaneously on days 0, 15 and 30 with B.dV or B.dV/ Na2-EDTA (7-30μg or 14-60 μg) emulsified with complete Freund?s Adjuvant and incomplete (booster). On days 14, 29, 37 blood samples were collected from the tip of the animals tail and day 45 the final bleeding and the separation of the different sera were performed. These were destined for immunoassays and neutralization assays for proteolytic, indirect hemolytic, and coagulant activity. The results of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that both anti-B.dV and anti-B.dV/EDTA serum had high antibody titers (1/74.850 ? 1/186.150) at the end of the immunization protocol. Regarding the Western Blot, the anti-B.dV/EDTA serum recognized the main bands, corresponding to the venom proteins, in a similar way as the anti-B.dV. Additionally, the experimental sera produced showed neutralizing capacity of the main toxic activities tested in vitro. This result shows that Na2-EDTA does not affect the immunogenicity of proteins since animals immunized with B.dV/ Na2-EDTA respond to B.diporus venom in a similar way to animals immunized with venom without inhibitor.Fil: López, Gisela Lumila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Química Básica y Aplicada del Nordeste Argentino. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Instituto de Química Básica y Aplicada del Nordeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Leiva, Laura Cristina Ana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Química Básica y Aplicada del Nordeste Argentino. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Instituto de Química Básica y Aplicada del Nordeste Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Fusco, Luciano Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Química Básica y Aplicada del Nordeste Argentino. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Instituto de Química Básica y Aplicada del Nordeste Argentino; ArgentinaXXIII Annual Meeting of the Argentinean Biology SocietyBuenos AiresArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Biologí

Energy expenditure and perceived exertion during active video games in relation to player mode and gender

Active video games (AVG) increase energy expenditure (EE) with respect to sedentary video games. Although several AVG consoles allow playing in single-player (SP) or multiplayer (MP) mode, few studies investigated differences in relation to game modality in men and women. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate gender-related psycho-physiological responses during Zumba Fitness Rush (ZFR) played in SP vs. MP mode. Twenty-four college students (women: 14, men: 10; age: 24.6±2.0 years; body weight: 60.2±12.5 kg; body height: 167.8±11.5 cm; BMI: 21.2±2.1 kg·m-2) participated in two experimental sessions: SP (a subject playing ZFR alone) and MP (two subjects playing ZFR simultaneously). Heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2) and EE (MET and kcal∙min-1) were continuously measured and averaged every 10 seconds, while Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was recorded 30 minutes after the end of each session. A two (gender: women vs. men) by two (modality: SP vs. MP) ANOVA for repeated measures was applied. No differences emerged in relation to gender and game mode for %HRmax, VO2, MET, and RPE. Conversely, a main effect (p=.0007) for gender was found in EE, with significantly (p<.004) higher values in men in SP (women: 5.5±0.6 kcal·min-1; men: 8.3±1.4 kcal·min-1) and MP (women: 5.3±0.7 kcal·min-1; men: 7.6±1.9 kcal·min-1). Present findings suggest that ZFR could be classified as a moderate physical activity, proving to be an alternative form to traditional exercise. Although an effect of number of players could be expected, different player modes did not affect EE, probably because the rhythm of the music imposes a time constraint, independently of the presence of other players

ÍNDICE DE CONFIANZA DE LOS EMPRESARIOS AGROPECUARIOS EN ARGENTINA

The behavioral economics assumes that decision-makers act according to objective and observable variables and cognitive and emotional aspects. This implies that perceptions and expectations about the micro and macroeconomic environment play an important role in economic decisions, especially in consumption and investment. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is a globally-used indicator that relieves and exposes consumer expectations about the economy. However, for the agricultural sector, this index is scarcely developed.In Argentina, the agricultural sector is important in terms of its contribution to GDP, exports, employment and added value. For this reason, the present work exposes and develops an index of confidence of the agricultural grower (ICEA) belonging to the CREA Movement of Argentina.La economía del comportamiento asume que los decisores actúan en función de variables objetivas y observables, como así también en función de aspectos cognitivos y emocionales. Esto implica que las percepciones y expectativas sobre el entorno micro y macroeconómico juegan un rol importante en las decisiones económicas, sobre todo en las referentes al consumo y la inversión. El índice de confianza del consumidor (ICC) es un indicador mundialmente utilizado que releva y expone las expectativas de los consumidores sobre la economía en general y su economía en particular. Sin embargo, para el sector agropecuario, este indicador se encuentra escasamente desarrollado. En Argentina, el sector agropecuario es importante en cuanto a su aporte al PBI, las exportaciones, empleo y valor agregado. Por esta razón, el trabajo expone y desarrolla un índice de confianza del empresario agropecuario (ICEA) perteneciente al Movimiento CREA (CREA) de Argentina

Genomics, Transcriptomics, and Proteomics of SSV1 and Related Fusellovirus: A Minireview

Saccharolobus spindle-shaped virus 1 (SSV1) was one of the first viruses identified in the archaeal kingdom. Originally isolated from a Japanese species of Saccharolobus back in 1984, it has been extensively used as a model system for genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic studies, as well as to unveil the molecular mechanisms governing the host–virus interaction. The purpose of this mini review is to supply a compendium of four decades of research on the SSV1 virus

Susceptibility mapping of shallow landslides inducing debris flows: a comparison of physics-based approaches

The assessment of timing and potential locations of rainfallinduced shallow landslides through mathematical models represents a challenge for the assessment of landslide hazard, especially in cases with limited or not available data. In fact, modeling slope hydrological response and stability requires accurate estimates of unsaturated/saturated hydraulic and geotechnical properties of materials involved in landsliding, as well as climate and topography. Such aspect is relevant for the prediction of location and timing of landslide events, which is greatly needed to reduce their catastrophic effects in terms of economic losses and casualties. To such a scope, we present the comparison of results of two physics-based models applied to the assessment of susceptibility to shallow rainfall-induced landslides in Valtellina region (northern Italy). The analyses were carried out considering effects of availability, resolution and type of data concerning spatial distribution, thickness and properties of soils coverings. For such a scope, the Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-Based Regional Slope-Stability (TRIGRS) and the Climatic Rainfall Hydrogeological Modeling Experiment (CHRyME) models were considered. The study emphasizes issues in performing distributed numerical slope stability modeling depending on the availability of spatially distributed soil properties which hamper the quality of physic-based models. Further analyses aimed at the probabilistic assessment of landslide spatial distribution, related to a specific value of rainfall threshold, can be considered as potentially applicable to multi-scale landslide hazard mapping and extendable to other similar mountainous frameworks