Transportation rating systems and social sustainability: A comprehensive analysis

The purpose of this study is to explore the social sector of sustainability in transportation design and engineering. Along with establishing a definition for social sustainability in transportation from existing literature, this document also includes a comprehensive analysis of current sustainability rating systems based on their evaluation of social sustainability metrics. The goal of this thesis is to inform transportation professionals about the existing social sustainability gaps in transportation literature and sustainability rating systems. Social sustainability in transportation is comprised of two fundamental concepts: social equity and sustainability of community (Bramley and Power, 2009; Dempsey, 2009; McKenzie, 2004; Magis, 2010; Vallance, 2011). Social equity includes accessibility, safety, and health, and sustainability of community includes cohesion, participation, and awareness. A coding system based on a hierarchical representation of social sustainability terminology was developed to categorize the credits of six sustainable transportation rating systems: Greenroads, I-LAST, Envision, INVEST, GreenPaths, and STARS. The results of this study indicate that gaps exist between the definition and application of social sustainability in transportation. Since research in this sector of sustainability is underdeveloped compared to economic and environmental sustainability, social objectives were largely underrepresented in Envision, Greenroads, and I-LAST. Using a qualitative framework was helpful in understanding where gaps exist since the credits were interpreted based on interrelated themes and descriptions. After evaluating how each rating system quantifies social sustainability objectives, it was determined that GreenPaths and STARS are most inclusive of social credits

Fish mouths as engineering structures for vortical cross-step filtration

Suspension-feeding fishes such as goldfish and whale sharks retain prey without clogging their oral filters, whereas clogging is a major expense in industrial crossflow filtration of beer, dairy foods and biotechnology products. Fishes\u27 abilities to retain particles that are smaller than the pore size of the gill-raker filter, including extraction of particles despite large holes in the filter, also remain unexplained. Here we show that unexplored combinations of engineering structures (backward-facing steps forming d-type ribs on the porous surface of a cone) cause fluid dynamic phenomena distinct from current biological and industrial filter operations. This vortical cross-step filtration model prevents clogging and explains the transport of tiny concentrated particles to the oesophagus using a hydrodynamic tongue. Mass transfer caused by vortices along d-type ribs in crossflow is applicable to filter-feeding duck beak lamellae and whale baleen plates, as well as the fluid mechanics of ventilation at fish gill filaments

Trichuris vulpis (Froelich, 1789) Infection in a Child: A Case Report

We present a human infection with the canine whipworm, Trichuris vulpis, in a child suffering from rhinitis with a diagnosis of rhinitis. T. vulpis eggs resemble those of T. trichiura but they can be differentiated based on their morphological features and egg size, using micrometry with an ocular micrometer. T. vulpis eggs measured an average of 90 µm by 44 µm (range 86-99 µm by 38-47 µm). Prevalence of hookworms (28.1%), Toxocara canis (11.8%), and Trichuris vulpis (3.5%) was found in 292 fecal samples of dogs collected at the peri-domicile, which showed that the risk of infection was not only fortuitous. The treatment of canine whipworm infections is similar to that of T. trichiura infection. We recommend differentiation of the 2 species for their epidemiological and prevention implications

Donor colonic CD103(+) dendritic cells determine the severity of acute graft-versus-host disease

The primacy of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in dictating the outcome of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is broadly accepted; however, the mechanisms controlling this effect are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that GVHD markedly enhances alloantigen presentation within the mesenteric lymph nodes (mLNs), mediated by donor CD103(+)CD11b(-) dendritic cells (DCs) that migrate from the colon under the influence of CCR7. Expansion and differentiation of donor T cells specifically within the mLNs is driven by profound levels of alloantigen, IL-12, and IL-6 promoted by Toll-like receptor (TLR) and receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) signals. Critically, alloantigen presentation in the mLNs imprints gut-homing integrin signatures on donor T cells, leading to their emigration into the GI tract where they mediate fulminant disease. These data identify a critical, anatomically distinct, donor DC subset that amplifies GVHD. We thus highlight multiple therapeutic targets and the ability of GVHD, once initiated by recipient antigen-presenting cells, to generate a profound, localized, and lethal feed-forward cascade of donor DC-mediated indirect alloantigen presentation and cytokine secretion within the GI tract.Motoko Koyama, Melody Cheong, Kate A. Markey, Kate H. Gartlan, Rachel D. Kuns, Kelly R. Locke, Katie E. Lineburg, Bianca E. Teal, Lucie Leveque-El mouttie, Mark D. Bunting, Slavica Vuckovic, Ping Zhang, Michele W.L. Teng, Antiopi Varelias, Siok-Keen Tey, Leesa F. Wockner, Christian R. Engwerda, Mark J. Smyth, Gabrielle T. Belz, Shaun R. McColl, Kelli P.A. MacDonald, and Geoffrey R. Hil

CSF-1–dependant donor-derived macrophages mediate chronic graft-versus-host disease

Chronic GVHD (cGVHD) is the major cause of late, nonrelapse death following stem cell transplantation and characteristically develops in organs such as skin and lung. Here, we used multiple murine models of cGVHD to investigate the contribution of macrophage populations in the development of cGVHD. Using an established IL-17–dependent sclerodermatous cGVHD model, we confirmed that macrophages infiltrating the skin are derived from donor bone marrow (F4/80+CSF-1R+CD206+iNOS–). Cutaneous cGVHD developed in a CSF-1/CSF-1R–dependent manner, as treatment of recipients after transplantation with CSF-1 exacerbated macrophage infiltration and cutaneous pathology. Additionally, recipients of grafts from Csf1r–/– mice had substantially less macrophage infiltration and cutaneous pathology as compared with those receiving wild-type grafts. Neither CCL2/CCR2 nor GM-CSF/GM-CSFR signaling pathways were required for macrophage infiltration or development of cGVHD. In a different cGVHD model, in which bronchiolitis obliterans is a prominent manifestation, F4/80+ macrophage infiltration was similarly noted in the lungs of recipients after transplantation, and lung cGVHD was also IL-17 and CSF-1/CSF-1R dependent. Importantly, depletion of macrophages using an anti–CSF-1R mAb markedly reduced cutaneous and pulmonary cGVHD. Taken together, these data indicate that donor macrophages mediate the development of cGVHD and suggest that targeting CSF-1 signaling after transplantation may prevent and treat cGVHD

Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of Pre-Wisconsin Drifts, Coteau Des Prairies Eastern South Dakota

A Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota by Joane Marie Lineburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, November 1993.The Quaternary sediments and landforms of east-central South Dakota, southwest Minnesota and northwestern Iowa were examined in order to refine the stratigraphy of pre-Late Wisconsin drift units found at the surface and in the subsurface of the central portion of the Coteau des Prairies. Five geomorphic regions are recognized in the study area. The Crooks Drift Plain/Iowan Erosion Surface relates to a pre-Late Wisconsin glacial advance, while the Brookings Till Plain is apparently Early Late Wisconsin in age. The Toronto Till Plain, the next oldest Late Wisconsin geomorphic surface, is typified by a well developed drainage network, few undrained depressions, and broad, flat drainage divides. The Bemis Moraine marks the farthest extent of the Late Wisconsin Des Moines Lobe. It is a fairly continuous ridge on the east side of the Coteau des Prairies. Behind the Bemis Moraine is kame-and-kettle topography typical of that left by stagnant ice. The Dakota Moraine marks the maximum extent of the James Lobe on the western side of the Coteau des Prairies. A total of eight drift units were identified from two hollow stem auger cores, along with four diamictons and one possible supraglacial facies. Four of these units are given names in this study. From oldest to youngest they are: the Renner Till; the Brandon Till; the Big Souix Till; and the Hartford Till. Five of the eight drift units are exposed at the surface, along with one drift unit that did not appear in either core. Eleven of these units are pre-Late Wisconsin in age. Clast lithologies indicate that most of the pre-Late Wisconsin glaciers advanced from the north-northeast. Four units of Late Wisconsin age were recognized in the study area. The Toronto Till is the oldest definite Late Wisconsin till. The Toronto Till as described by Gilbertson (1990) appears to be composed of two tills of very similar composition. The earliest of these was deposited between 30,000 and 20,000 years ago, with the later deposited shortly thereafter. The till of the Bemis Moraine (New Ulm Till) was deposited by the Des Moines Lobe beginning approximately 14,000 yrbp. The till of the Dakota Moraine was deposited by the James Lobe beginning only a few hundred years after the deposition of the Bemis Moraine. Younger tills of both lobes are present outside of the current study area