Rethinking zoning for people: Utilizing the concept of the village

In this chapter, we propose it is time to re-think and re-imagine how we approach zoning. This is especially true for suburban developments. Today, especially in the United States, zoning in suburban areas is being used to segregate and separate the component parts of our communities into distinct zones which are spread out geographically and in most cases require the daily use of an automobile. The negative consequences of this form of development for health, community and the environment are discussed. Using a study of neighborhoods in Dublin, Ireland and its suburbs we examine how professionals and the public view the places they live and connect these perspectives to the manner in which zoning has changed over the course of the twentieth century. Insights from these professionals and the public lead us to propose that planners, engineers and developers be expected to think more about the kinds of walkable village neighborhoods that people seem to be drawn to almost instinctively. We urge that zoning laws be re-purposed to enable the building of communities that people prefer to live in

Identifying High and Low Walkable Neighbourhoods Using Multi-disciplinary Walkability Criteria

Neighbourhood features contributing to the walkability (pedestrian friendliness) of a neighbourhood are diverse and depend on both its physical and social attributes. Earlier work in the Cleaner, Greener, Leaner (CGL) Study identified differences in opinion between professional stakeholder groups (planners, designers, engineers, public representatives, and public health and advocacy professionals) on what constitutes a walkable environment [1]. This diversity has implications for neighbourhood design and planning policy. The findings of a multi-disciplinary focus group study were used to generate a list of walkability criteria to select areas for a population study. In this study twenty areas were shortlisted and grouped under four categories: high walkable deprived, high walkable not deprived, low walkable deprived and low walkable not deprived. This paper presents the process undertaken to identify the study sites. International walkability research has favoured macro-scale objective geographic information systems (GIS) information to identify study areas [2]. While these macro scale attributes are important for walkability, alone they were considered insufficient for site selection by the CGL team as street characteristics were not considered and the attributes had a bias towards transportation walking. Also, indications from the focus group participants were that walkability is perceptual and therefore some resulting criteria were subjective, for example ‘a pleasant atmosphere contextual to area characteristics’ and therefore difficult to measure objectively. The CGL site selection process presented a number of challenges including limitations with available GIS information, unrepresentative neighbourhood boundaries on GIS datasets, and only one deprived neighbourhood identified as high walkable by the focus group participants. An investigation of the role of high and low walkable environments on resident’s behaviours and health can be used to inform future planning, transport, public health and neighbourhood design policies

Walkable Neighborhoods: Linkages Between Place, Health, and Happiness in Younger and Older Adults

Problem, research strategy, and findings: We examined whether living in a walkable neighborhood influenced the happiness of younger and older city residents. The data for this study came from a comprehensive household population survey of 1,064 adults living in 16 neighborhoods in Dublin City (Ireland) and its suburbs. We used multigroup structural equation modeling to analyze the direct and indirect effects of walkability on happiness, mediated by health, trust, and satisfaction with neighborhood appearance. We found living in a walkable neighborhood was directly linked to the happiness of people aged 36 to 45 (p¼.001) and, to a lesser extent, those aged 18 to 35 (p¼.07). For older adults, we found that walkable places mattered for happiness indirectly. Such built environments enhanced the likelihood that residents felt more healthy and more trusting of others, and this in turn affected the happiness of older people living in walkable neighborhoods. Takeaway for practice: We found that the way neighborhoods are planned and maintained mattered for happiness, health, and trust. Our findings suggest that mixed-use neighborhood designs that enable residents to shop and socialize within walking distance to their homes have direct and indirect effects on happiness. We call for an ongoing dialogue and evaluation of the way our urban and suburban neighborhoods are planned, designed, and developed, so that people can live in walkable places that better enable health and wellbeing

APC loss in breast cancer leads to doxorubicin resistance via STAT3 activation

Resistance to chemotherapy is one of the leading causes of death from breast cancer. We recently established that loss of Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) in the Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus – Polyoma middle T (MMTV-PyMT) transgenic mouse model results in resistance to cisplatin or doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Herein, we aim to establish the mechanism that is responsible for APC-mediated chemotherapeutic resistance. Our data demonstrate that MMTV-PyMT;ApcMin/+ cells have increased signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation. STAT3 can be constitutively activated in breast cancer, maintains the tumor initiating cell (TIC) population, and upregulates multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1). The activation of STAT3 in the MMTV-PyMT;ApcMin/+ model is independent of interleukin 6 (IL-6); however, enhanced EGFR expression in the MMTV-PyMT;ApcMin/+ cells may be responsible for the increased STAT3 activation. Inhibiting STAT3 with a small molecule inhibitor A69 in combination with doxorubicin, but not cisplatin, restores drug sensitivity. A69 also decreases doxorubicin enhanced MDR1 gene expression and the TIC population enhanced by loss of APC. In summary, these results have revealed the molecular mechanisms of APC loss in breast cancer that can guide future treatment plans to counteract chemotherapeutic resistance

A lifecourse mendelian randomization study highlights the long-term influence of childhood body size on later life heart structure

Children with obesity typically have larger left ventricular heart dimensions during adulthood. However, whether this is due to a persistent effect of adiposity extending into adulthood is challenging to disentangle due to confounding factors throughout the lifecourse. We conducted a multivariable mendelian randomization (MR) study to separate the independent effects of childhood and adult body size on 4 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of heart structure and function in the UK Biobank (UKB) study. Strong evidence of a genetically predicted effect of childhood body size on all measures of adulthood heart structure was identified, which remained robust upon accounting for adult body size using a multivariable MR framework (e.g., left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), Beta = 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.23 to 0.43, P = 4.6 × 10-10). Sensitivity analyses did not suggest that other lifecourse measures of body composition were responsible for these effects. Conversely, evidence of a genetically predicted effect of childhood body size on various other MRI-based measures, such as fat percentage in the liver (Beta = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.23, P = 0.002) and pancreas (Beta = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.33, P = 3.9 × 10-4), attenuated upon accounting for adult body size. Our findings suggest that childhood body size has a long-term (and potentially immutable) influence on heart structure in later life. In contrast, effects of childhood body size on other measures of adulthood organ size and fat percentage evaluated in this study are likely explained by the long-term consequence of remaining overweight throughout the lifecourse.</p

Measurement of high carrier mobility in graphene in an aqueous electrolyte environment

Graphene is a promising material for applications in aqueous electrolyte environments. To explore the impact of such environments on graphene's electrical properties, we performed Hall bar measurements on electrolyte-gated graphene. Assuming a Drude model, we find that the room temperature carrier mobility in water-gated, SiO₂-supported graphene reaches 7000 cm²/Vs, comparable to the best dry SiO₂-supported graphene devices. Our results show that the electrical performance of graphene is robust, even in the presence of dissolved ions that introduce an additional mechanism for Coulomb scattering

Interaction and efficacy of Keigai-rengyo-to extract and acupuncture in male patients with acne vulgaris: A study protocol for a randomized controlled pilot trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In consideration of patients seeking to use traditional Chinese medicine, an evidence-based potentiality for safe and effective use of herbal medicine and acupuncture in treatment of acne vulgaris has been suggested. However, despite common use of a combination of herbal medicine and acupuncture in clinical practice, the current level of evidence is insufficient to draw a conclusion for an interaction and efficacy of herbal medicine and acupuncture. Therefore, considering these methodological flaws, this study was designed to assess the interaction and efficacy of an available herbal medicine, Keigai-rengyo-to extract (KRTE), and acupuncture for treatment of acne using the 2 × 2 factorial design and the feasibility of a large clinical trial.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A randomized, assessor single blinded, 2 × 2 factorial pilot trial will be conducted. Forty four participants with acne vulgaris will be randomized into one of four groups: waiting list group (WL), KRTE only group (KO), acupuncture only group (AO), and KRTE and acupuncture combined treatment group (KA). After randomization, a total of 8 sessions of acupuncture treatment will be performed twice a week in the AO- and KA groups, respectively. Patients in the KO- and KA groups will be prescribed KRTE 3 times a day at a dose of 7.4 g after meals for 4 weeks. The following outcome measurements will be used in examination of subjects: the mean percentage change and the count change of inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne lesions, the Skindex 29, visual analogue scale (VAS) and investigator global assessment (IGA) from baseline to the end of the trial.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The trial is registered with the Clinical Research Information Service (CRiS), Republic of Korea: KCT0000071.</p