Road user charging and implications for transport policy: Findings from the CURACAO project

This paper reports on the outcomes of a European project, CURACAO, designed to support the implementation of urban road user charging (URUC) as a demand management tool in urban areas. The project did this through engagement with a User Group of cities interested in pursuing URUC to identify the barriers preventing them from doing so. The project reviewed the complete process of setting up a URUC scheme from the setting of objectives, through to scheme design, predicting impacts, achieving acceptability and the implementation process and presented its findings in a State of the Art Report and a Case Studies Report. The State of the Art Report provides evidence collated from research and practice to address a series of 14 themes identified by the User Group, including objectives; scheme design; technology; business systems; prediction; traffic, environmental, economic and equity impacts; appraisal; acceptability; transferability; implementation; and evaluation. The Case Study Report reviewed 16 proposed or implemented schemes in Europe, focusing on pricing objectives, scheme design, the implementation process and scheme results. On this basis, the CURACAO Consortium developed a list of policy recommendations aimed at cities and regional authorities, national governments, and the European Commission. The paper summarises the main findings of the State of the Art Report and the case studies. On this basis, it outlines the policy recommendations which were drawn, and identifies future research needs

Non-dynamic origin of the acoustic attenuation at high frequency in glasses

The sound attenuation in the THz region is studied down to T=16 K in glassy glycerol by inelastic x-ray scattering. At striking variance with the decrease found below 100 K in the GHz data, the attenuation in the THz range does not show any T dependence. This result i) indicates the presence of two different attenuation mechanisms, active respectively in the high and low frequency limits; ii) demonstrates the non-dynamic origin of the attenuation of THz sound waves, and confirms a similar conclusion obtained in SiO2 glass by molecular dynamics; and iii) supports the low frequency attenuation mechanism proposed by Fabian and Allen (Phys.Rev.Lett. 82, 1478 (1999)).Comment: 3 pages, 5 Figures, To be published in PR

Soluble guanylate cyclase stimulation fosters angiogenesis and blunts myofibroblast-like features of systemic sclerosis endothelial cells

OBJECTIVES: In SSc, angiogenesis impairment advances in parallel with the development of fibrosis orchestrated by myofibroblasts originating from different sources, including endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT). Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulation has shown antifibrotic effects in SSc skin fibroblasts and mouse models. Here, we investigated the effects of pharmacological sGC stimulation on impaired angiogenesis and myofibroblast-like features of SSc dermal microvascular endothelial cells (SSc-MVECs). METHODS: To determine whether sGC stimulation affected cell viability/proliferation, SSc-MVECs and healthy dermal MVECs (H-MVECs) were challenged with the sGC stimulator (sGCS) MK-2947 and assayed by annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometry and the water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1) assay. To study angiogenesis and EndoMT, MK-2947-treated SSc-MVECs were subjected to wound healing and capillary morphogenesis assays and analysed for the expression of endothelial/myofibroblast markers and contractile ability. RESULTS: MK-2947 treatment did not affect H-MVEC viability/proliferation, while it significantly increased SSc-MVEC proliferation, wound healing capability and angiogenic performance. After MK-2947 treatment, SSc-MVECs exhibited significantly increased proangiogenic MMP9 and decreased antiangiogenic MMP12 and PTX3 gene expression. A significant increase in the expression of CD31 and vascular endothelial cadherin paralleled by a decrease in α-smooth muscle actin, S100A4, type I collagen and Snail1 mesenchymal markers was also found in MK-2947-treated SSc-MVECs. Furthermore, stimulation of sGC with MK-2947 significantly counteracted the intrinsic ability of SSc-MVECs to contract collagen gels and reduced phosphorylated-extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 protein levels. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate for the first time that pharmacological sGC stimulation effectively ameliorates the angiogenic performance and blunts the myofibroblast-like profibrotic phenotype of SSc-MVECs, thus providing new evidence for repurposing sGCSs for SSc

On the origin of the λ\lambda-transition in liquid Sulphur

Developing a novel experimental technique, we applied photon correlation spectroscopy using infrared radiation in liquid Sulphur around $T_\lambda$, i.e. in the temperature range where an abrupt increase in viscosity by four orders of magnitude is observed upon heating within few degrees. This allowed us - overcoming photo-induced and absorption effects at visible wavelengths - to reveal a chain relaxation process with characteristic time in the ms range. These results do rehabilitate the validity of the Maxwell relation in Sulphur from an apparent failure, allowing rationalizing the mechanical and thermodynamic behavior of this system within a viscoelastic scenario.Comment: 5 pages, 4 eps figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Quantum Quenches in Integrable Field Theories

We study the non equilibrium time evolution of an integrable field theory in 1+1 dimensions after a sudden variation of a global parameter of the Hamiltonian. For a class of quenches defined in the text, we compute the long times limit of the one point function of a local operator as a series of form factors. Even if some subtleties force us to handle this result with care, there is a strong evidence that for long times the expectation value of any local operator can be described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble with a different effective temperature for each eigenmode

A two-step immunomagnetic microbead-based method for the isolation of human primary skin telocytes/CD34+ stromal cells

Telocytes (TCs), commonly referred to as TCs/CD34+ stromal cells, are a peculiar type of interstitial cells with distinctive morphologic traits that are supposed to exert several biological functions, including tissue homeostasis regulation, cell-to-cell signaling, immune surveillance, and reparative/regenerative effects. At present, the majority of studies investigating these cells are mainly descriptive and focus only on their morphology, with a consequent paucity of functional data. To gain relevant insight into the possible functions of TCs, in vitro analyses are clearly required, but currently, the protocols for TC isolation are only at the early stages and not fully standardized. In the present in vitro study, we describe a novel methodology for the purification of human primary skin TCs through a two-step immunomagnetic microbead-based cell separation (i.e., negative selection for CD31 followed by positive selection for CD34) capable of discriminating these cells from other connective tissue-resident cells on the basis of their different immunophenotypic features. Our experiments clearly demonstrated that the proposed method allows a selective purification of cells exhibiting the peculiar TC morphology. Isolated TCs displayed very long cytoplasmic extensions with a moniliform silhouette (telopodes) and presented an immunophenotypic profile (CD31−/CD34+/PDGFRα+/vimentin+) that unequivocally differentiates them from endothelial cells (CD31+/CD34+/PDGFRα−/vimentin+) and fibroblasts (CD31−/CD34−/PDGFRα+/vimentin+). This novel methodology for the isolation of TCs lays the groundwork for further research aimed at elucidating their functional properties and possible translational applications, especially in the field of regenerative medicine

Quantum quench dynamics of the sine-Gordon model in some solvable limits

In connection with the the thermalization problem in isolated quantum systems, we investigate the dynamics following a quantum quench of the sine-Gordon model in the Luther-Emery and the semiclassical limits. We consider the quench from the gapped to the gapless phase as well as reversed one. By obtaining analytic expressions for the one and two-point correlation functions of the order parameter operator at zero-temperature, the manifestations of integrability in the absence of thermalization in the sine-Gordon model are studied. It is thus shown that correlations in the long time regime after the quench are well described by a generalized Gibbs ensemble. We also consider the case where the system is initially in contact with a reservoir at finite temperature. The possible relevance of our results to current and future experiments with ultracold atomic systems is also critically considered.Comment: 21 pages, no figures. To appear in New J. Phys

Tunneling of polarized fermions in 3D double wells

We study the tunneling of a spin polarized Fermi gas in a three-dimensional double well potential, focusing on the time dynamics starting from an initial state in which there is an imbalance in the number of particles in the two wells. Although fermions in different doublets of the double well tunnel with different frequencies, we point out that (incoherent) oscillations of a large number of particles can arise, as a consequence of the presence of transverse degrees of freedom. Estimates of the doublet structure and of the occupation of transverse eigenstates for a realistic experimental setup are provided.Comment: 10 pages, Typos corrected and figures changed - published in Laser Physics, issue on the LPHYS'11 conference (Sarajevo, 2011

Zamolodchikov-Faddeev Algebra and Quantum Quenches in Integrable Field Theories

We analyze quantum quenches in integrable models and in particular the determination of the initial state in the basis of eigenstates of the post-quench hamiltonian. This leads us to consider the set of transformations of creation and annihilation operators that respect the Zamolodchikov-Faddeev algebra satisfied by integrable models. We establish that the Bogoliubov transformations hold only in the case of quantum quenches in free theories. In the most general case of interacting theories, we identify two classes of transformations. The first class induces a change in the S-matrix of the theory but not of its ground state, whereas the second class results in a "dressing" of the operators. As examples of our approach we consider the transformations associated with a change of the interaction in the Sinh-Gordon and the Lieb-Liniger model.Comment: v2: published version (typos corrected

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF receptors in diabetic nephropathy: expression studies in biopsies of type 2 diabetic patients.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy but its role in diabetic nephropathy is only speculative so far. It has been shown that in renal cortex of normal kidneys, glomerular and tubular epithelial cells express VEGF and that VEGF 165 is the predominant isoform. Two VEGF receptors, KDR (kinase domain region) and Flt-1 (fms-like tyrosine kinase) are co-expressed by glomerular and peritubular capillary endothelial cells. However, VEGF and VEGF receptors are predominantly expressed at glomerular level. We recently demonstrated that in type 2 diabetic patients glomerular qualitative and quantitative changes of VEGF mRNA expression are associated with functional and structural renal changes. In the present work we focused on the tubulo-interstitial compartment; by reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) we evaluated the expression of VEGF, KDR, Flt-1 and the relationship between the two main type of VEGF isoforms, VEGF121 and VEGF165 in the tubulo-interstitium of type 2 diabetic patients. Patients were divided in three category on the basis of renal structure pattern: CI, with normal or near normal renal structure; CII, with glomerular and tubulo-interstitial lesions occurring in parallel (typical diabetic nephropathology); CIII, with atypical pattern of renal injury, i.e., more severe tubulo-interstitial and vascular than glomerular changes. Comparison between the two cortical compartments revealed that, both in glomeruli and in tubulo-interstitium. VEGF121 isoform exceed VEGF165 while Flt-1 was significantly lower in glomeruli. CIII patients had the lowest tubulo-interstitial level of VEGF and Flt-1 mRNAs. These results suggest that the transcriptional shifting from VEGF165 to VEGF121 isoform and the unbalanced FIt-1 expression between tubulo-interstitium and glomeruli could be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. Furthermore, at least in CIII patients, down-regulation of the VEGF-Flt-1 system could be involved in the mechanisms leading to tubulointerstitial diabetic lesions