Fundamentals of Traffic Flow

From single vehicle data a number of new empirical results concerning the density-dependence of the velocity distribution and its moments as well as the characteristics of their temporal fluctuations have been determined. These are utilized for the specification of some fundamental relations of traffic flow and compared with existing traffic theories.Comment: For related work see http://www.theo2.physik.uni-stuttgart.de/helbing.htm

The role of the gap junction protein connexin43 in B lymphocyte motility and migration

AbstractThe gap junction family of proteins is widely expressed in mammalian cells and form intercellular channels between adjacent cells, as well as hemichannels, for transport of molecules between the cell and the surrounding environment. In addition, gap junction proteins have recently been implicated as important for the regulation of cell adhesion and migration in a variety of cell types. The gap junction protein connexin43 (Cx43) regulates B lymphocyte adhesion, BCR- and LFA-1-mediated activation of the GTPase Rap1, and cytoskeletal rearrangements resulting in changes to cell shape and membrane spreading. We demonstrate here that the actin cytoskeleton is important for the distribution of Cx43 in the B cell plasma membrane and for other cell processes involving the cytoskeleton. Using shRNA knockdown of Cx43 in B lymphoma cells we show that Cx43 is also necessary for chemokine-mediated Rap 1 activation, motility, CXCL12-directed migration, and movement across an endothelial cell monolayer. These results demonstrate that in addition to its role in B cell spreading, Cx43 is an important regulator of B-cell motility and migration, processes essential for normal B-cell development and immune responses

Pathogen-specific risk of chronic gastrointestinal disorders following bacterial causes of foodborne illness

BACKGROUND: The US CDC estimates over 2 million foodborne illnesses are annually caused by 4 major enteropathogens: non-typhoid Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Shigella spp. and Yersinia enterocoltica. While data suggest a number of costly and morbid chronic sequelae associated with these infections, pathogen-specific risk estimates are lacking. We utilized a US Department of Defense medical encounter database to evaluate the risk of several gastrointestinal disorders following select foodborne infections. METHODS: We identified subjects with acute gastroenteritis between 1998 to 2009 attributed to Salmonella (nontyphoidal) spp., Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp. or Yersinia enterocolitica and matched each with up to 4 unexposed subjects. Medical history was analyzed for the duration of military service time (or a minimum of 1 year) to assess for incident chronic gastrointestinal disorders. Relative risks were calculated using modified Poisson regression while controlling for the effect of covariates. RESULTS: A total of 1,753 pathogen-specific gastroenteritis cases (Campylobacter: 738, Salmonella: 624, Shigella: 376, Yersinia: 17) were identified and followed for a median of 3.8 years. The incidence (per 100,000 person-years) of PI sequelae among exposed was as follows: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), 3.0; dyspepsia, 1.8; constipation, 3.9; gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), 9.7. In multivariate analyses, we found pathogen-specific increased risk of IBS, dyspepsia, constipation and GERD. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm previous studies demonstrating risk of chronic gastrointestinal sequelae following bacterial enteric infections and highlight additional preventable burden of disease which may inform better food security policies and practices, and prompt further research into pathogenic mechanisms

Mechanical Testing of Artificial Vessels and Tissues for Photoplethysmography Phantoms

Various studies have looked at the efficiency of artificial vessel and tissue networks in the study of photoplethysmography (PPG) in an effort to better understand the origin of various morphological features present in the signal. Whilst there are all reasonable attempts made to replicate geometrical features such as vessel depth, vessel wall thickness and diameter etc., not many studies have attempted to replicate the mechanical properties such as vessel elasticity and tissue compressibility. This study reports two methods for tissue mechanical testing for the analysis of vessel elasticity and tissue compressibility. A two-part polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as a base material for both tissue and vessel construction, and the properties altered by changing the curing component ratio. Tissue compression properties were investigated using an industrially calibrated materials testing device using the protocol from the ASTM 0575-91 testing method. Vessel elasticity was investigated using a custom method and apparatus to report vessel diameter and length change simultaneously. Tissue compressive properties proved reasonably easy to replicate through catalyst alteration, however the vessel elasticity properties were found to be higher than expected at all reasonable catalyst ratios. The property of hyper-elasticity was observed in the artificial vessels though, leading to the conclusion that alternative material recipes or construction methods may be needed to correctly replicate the expected mechanical characteristics. Clinical Relevance- The latest generation of health monitoring devices, especially those that are wearable and used widely by individuals wishing to monitor their health daily are becoming smarter and more sophisticated in their functionality. The majority of such devices use photoplethysmography (PPG) as their primary monitoring technique. Being able to replicate the PPG in a phantom allows the continued study and development of devices, and to improve their functionality without the continued need for extensive user-testing