Ex post analysis of the regional impacts of major infrastructure: the Channel Tunnel 10 years on.

The regional impact of transport infrastructure investment has achieved considerable attention across Europe in recent years. The construction of major bridges and tunnels to overcome natural barriers and the development of the trans-European networks has led to large volumes of research on the likely economic impacts of such investment on neighbouring regions. Most of these studies are ex ante studies undertaken as part of the decision process into the investment, either on the part of the project promoter or the affected regions. At the same time there has been a continuation of interest in the broader question of the wider economic benefits arising from transport improvements at a more aggregate level; whether and under what circumstances such benefits do arise, and if so how they can be incorporated in any evaluation. As a recent study by Flyvbjerg et al (2003) has shown, the claims made for the returns on major projects have tended to be exaggerated, both in terms of underestimates of likely costs and overestimates of potential direct traffic benefits. This paper provides a relatively rare example of an ex post study of what impacts one of the major recent infrastructure projects has had on the local and regional economy by looking at the experience of the Channel Tunnel after its first ten years of operation. The paper reviews the methodological issues in carrying out an ex post study and assembles evidence related to traffic, labour market, investment and development impacts compared to the ex ante expectations. The main methodological issue is in establishing the counter-factual position of how the regional economy would have developed in the absence of the tunnel. A substantial volume of traffic would have continued to have passed through the region’s ports using the ferries which would have required continuing investment over this period. This has been a period also in which major changes have occurred in the EU economy with the move to completion of a Single Market. Many of the driving forces of the regional economy come from the adjacent London metropolitan region. The approach adopted has been to examine trends in the regional economy relative to those in the wider regional and national economies in both the UK and France. There are two basic questions: to what extent would traffic have continued to grow at the rate experienced in the absence of the tunnel infrastructure; and has tunnel related traffic had a differential impact on the local economy from a similar volume of ferry traffic? The paper examines in detail the volume and structure of traffic and compares these with ex ante traffic forecasts; trends in the local labour markets in terms of the growth of job opportunities, occupational structure and the evolution of unemployment; investment (including foreign investment) in the regional economy; and the development and execution of plans for physical development in the region. The paper concludes that although much has changed in the region following the completion of the tunnel, it is difficult to identify a significant difference in the aggregate performance relative to the wider regional and national experiences. Essentially, the improvement of transport infrastructure has enabled the regions to be more integrated into their wider regions and experience a similar economic performance, but whether this has led to a better performance is more difficult to determine.

Feminine Monstrosity: Medusa Through the Ages

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College

Associations Among Acne Vulgaris and Western Diet

Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatologic conditions, especially among the adolescent population. The pathogenesis of acne is largely multifactorial, with heredity and hormones strongly contributing to one’s risk of developing the chronic inflammatory skin condition. High prevalence rates of acne in the adolescent population cannot be attributed to heredity alone, but by the influence of Western diet (WD) that overstimulates insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). The purpose of this scholarly project is to determine if there is an association between the presence of acne vulgaris and the consumption of WD, and if a physiological link between the high glycemic food and dairy products that compose the typical WD exists. Includes current research that focuses on the pathophysiology of acne vulgaris, the breakdown of high glycemic foods and dairy products and their propensity to cause inflammatory acne,as well as hyperinsulinism. Anticipated to be found that consuming a WD increases IGFs leading to hyperinsulinemia, and furthermore, acne presentation by increased sebum production. More research is needed before universal associations can be established.https://commons.und.edu/pas-grad-posters/1024/thumbnail.jp

Associations Among Acne Vulgaris and Western Diet

Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatologic conditions, especially among the adolescent population. The pathogenesis of acne is largely multifactorial, with heredity and hormones strongly contributing to one’s risk of developing the chronic inflammatory skin condition; it is related to excess sebum production by sebaceous glands, inflammation within comedones, and hyperproliferation of Propionibacterium acnes. High prevalence rates of acne in the adolescent population cannot be attributed to heredity alone, but by the influence of Western diet that overstimulates a key conductor of metabolism, the growth factor-sensitive kinase known as mTORC1. Many investigations show associations between acne and Western diet, which is a diet consisting heavily of processed carbohydrates, refined sugars, and dairy products. Both high glycemic load and dairy-rich foods increase the levels of insulin-like growth factors (IGF)-1 and can reduce insulin sensitivity. Increased IGF-1 levels and decreased insulin sensitivity can lead to androgen-mediated increases in sebum production, which in turn attributes to the manifestation of acne vulgaris, as excess sebum is one of the vital mechanisms in the pathophysiology of acne vulgaris

Biofilm formation and pathogenicity in Enterococci

Enterococci are opportunistic pathogens that are frequently a source of nosocomial infections and it is their resistance to antibiotics and their ability to form biofilms that represent important virulence traits. Normally. in healthy individuals it is a harmless commensal that is usually found in the intestine. This thesis firstly studies signal peptidases (SPases), which play an essential role in protein translocation. Interestingly, E. faecium was found to contain three type I SPases. Many proteins that are secreted are virulence factors, and the aim was to delete one or more of the SPases and study the effect of its removal on virulence. Unfortunately no mutants were obtained suggesting that the genes were essential. To establish if the genes were essential an inducible integration vector was constructed, but due to time constraints this could not be tested further. Biofilm formation was studied in both E. faecium and E. faecalis. The presence of the Enterococcal Surface Protein (Esp) in E. faecium was shown to increase hydrophobicity, and therefore also increase biofilm formation. Similarly, E.faecalis isolates that were good biofilm formers were also more hydrophobic in nature. The expression of Esp in E. faecium was studied under different conditions; these studies indicated that the highest level of Esp expression was found in biofilms cells. This grmvth-dependent manner Esp expression was not observed in E.faecalis BS12297. Surprisingly, Esp in E. faecium was also shown to have a ro le in ampicillin resistance, which was identified using calorimetry. This method proved to be a sensitive and rapid method to analyse antibiotic resistance. In the gut, bacteria encounter various adverse conditions, such as low pH and the presence of bile salts. Here we investigated the effects of bile salts on biofi lm formation in E. faecium and E. faecalis and demonstrated that biofilm formation is induced at physiological concentrations of bile salts. In E. faecium the presence of bi le salts caused an increase in initial attachment, microcolony formation and EPS production. Various factors were investigated, including hydrophobicity, cell growth, cell morphology, Esp expression and the production of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). In E. faecium, only EPS production appeared to play a role, but the stimulation of biofilm formation due to bile salts is still to be fully explained.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Women rising: embracing, negotiating, and reinterpreting gender roles in revolutionary Ireland, 1913-1923

This thesis examines the Irish revolutions (1913–1923) through the eyes of the revolutionary women who fought in them. The historiography on the period largely ignores and or downplays the contributions of women, often relying on a few exceptional examples of their participation to censure the work of all. The majority were nameless, faceless foot soldiers who took on traditionally male roles as spies, snipers, and dispatch carriers, but also traditionally female roles as mothers, wives, mourners, and caretakers. Revolutionary women did not reject their femininity so much as realize its possibilities. Recognizing revolutionary women’s experiences were unique and deeply personal, the thesis focuses on using the women’s own words to tell their stories. The research uses Defense Forces Ireland Bureau of Military History witness statements, memoirs, diaries, correspondence, and speeches to draw much-needed attention to the ordinary women who did the extraordinary. It traces women’s participation through four phases: their rise (1913-1916); reaction to their participation (1916-1919); their reinterpretation of the ways in which they would participate (1919-1921); and the ultimate reversal of their agency as Irish Free State political leaders decided women more important as symbols of the nation than active participants in it (1922-1923). Chapter five orients the Irish revolutionary woman’s experience within the larger international context. Women have always been involved in war and revolution; female participation in combat is neither new nor novel. Women were present and did participate in both socially-accepted and circumstantially-allowed roles during the Irish revolutionary period. Historians can no longer confuse women’s exclusion from the Irish revolutionary narrative as non-participation. (Author abstract)Schaefer, M.K. (2017). Women rising: embracing, negotiating, and reinterpreting gender roles in revolutionary Ireland, 1913-1923. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduMaster ArtsHistoryCollege of Online and Continuing Educatio

Resolved Millimeter Observations of the HR 8799 Debris Disk

We present 1.3 millimeter observations of the debris disk surrounding the HR 8799 multi-planet system from the Submillimeter Array to complement archival ALMA observations that spatially filtered away the bulk of the emission. The image morphology at $3.8$ arcsecond (150 AU) resolution indicates an optically thin circumstellar belt, which we associate with a population of dust-producing planetesimals within the debris disk. The interferometric visibilities are fit well by an axisymmetric radial power-law model characterized by a broad width, $\Delta R/R\gtrsim 1$. The belt inclination and orientation parameters are consistent with the planet orbital parameters within the mutual uncertainties. The models constrain the radial location of the inner edge of the belt to $R_\text{in}= 104_{-12}^{+8}$ AU. In a simple scenario where the chaotic zone of the outermost planet b truncates the planetesimal distribution, this inner edge location translates into a constraint on the planet~b mass of $M_\text{pl} = 5.8_{-3.1}^{+7.9}$ M$_{\rm Jup}$. This mass estimate is consistent with infrared observations of the planet luminosity and standard hot-start evolutionary models, with the uncertainties allowing for a range of initial conditions. We also present new 9 millimeter observations of the debris disk from the Very Large Array and determine a millimeter spectral index of $2.41\pm0.17$. This value is typical of debris disks and indicates a power-law index of the grain size distribution $q=3.27\pm0.10$, close to predictions for a classical collisional cascade.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Ap

Urban Sodicity in a Humid Subtropical Climate: Impact on Biogeochemical Cycling

Understanding the mechanisms of non-point source carbon and nutrients in urban watersheds will help to develop policies to maintain surface water quality and prevention of eutrophication. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of sodium on carbon and nutrient leaching from the two main contributors; soil and leaf litter, and calculate the sodium exports in a humid subtropical urban river basin. The first chapter reviews the current literature on urbanization in watersheds. Chapter II quantifies the carbon and nutrient in intact soil core leachates and in water extractable solution from urban soils collected from 33 towns and cities across the state of Texas. Chapter III investigates the impact of sodicity and salinity on water extractable organic carbon and nitrogen from vegetation. Chapter IV investigates the export of sodium and chloride from the upper Trinity River basin. The results derived from this study indicate that sodium exports are elevated in urban watersheds and further that sodium in irrigation water elevates the loss of carbon and nutrients from both watershed soil and senesced vegetation and that this may contribute to high concentrations in urban freshwaters

Daily fluctuations of progesterone and testosterone are associated with fibromyalgia pain severity

The purpose of this longitudinal blood sampling study was to examine relationships between sex hormones and fibromyalgia pain. Eight women meeting case definition criteria for fibromyalgia provided venous blood samples and reported their fibromyalgia pain severity over 25 consecutive days. All women exhibited normal menstrual cycles and were not taking oral contraceptives. Corti- sol, and the sex hormones estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, were assayed from serum. A linear mixed model was used to determine if fluctuations of sex hormones were associated with changes in pain severity. In the entire sample, day to day changes in progesterone (P = .002) as well as tes- tosterone (P = .015) were significantly and inversely correlated with pain severity. There was no relationship between estradiol and pain (P = .551) or cortisol and pain (P = .633). These results suggest that progesterone and testosterone play a protective role in fibromyalgia pain severity. Sex and other hormones may serve to increase as well as decrease fibromyalgia pain severity.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Water for All: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing and Utilizing Sarvajal's Reverse Osmosis Brine in Northwestern India

An interdisciplinary team of six students from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources & Environment (SNRE) spent twelve months working with the India based, social enterprise, Sarvajal, to help address a water resource challenge facing their organization. Sarvajal works to provide clean and affordable drinking water to rural communities in India by employing the technology of Reverse Osmosis (RO) on a local scale. This process is considered one of the best water purification technologies currently available; however, as a by-product of this process, brine is produced that contains concentrated dissolved contaminants. Finding affordable methods to treat or use this brine is difficult. The team of students worked with Sarvajal to try and help address the challenges created by this RO brine. The contents of this report outline the work of the students and their recommendations for Sarvajal. The team conducted extensive research on possible applications for the RO brine, but as the project progressed, the team noticed operational inefficiencies and data gaps that presented barriers to successfully implementing specific applications. As a result, the team developed overarching recommendations, in addition to providing research on specific applications. Applications were researched that had the potential to address environmental, social, and economic impacts of brine management. The team’s recommendations were designed to facilitate the eventual implementation of some of the brine applications and to identify promising applications that warrant further consideration from Sarvajal. These recommendations include: expanding data collection and including additional parameters in brine testing, regionalizing efficiency standards for increased production, improving communications about RO brine use amongst Sarvajal and its franchisees, and investing in further research for select promising applications.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89963/1/FINAL SARVAJAL.pd