Traffic, urban growth and suburban sprawl

Cities are still getting bigger in the western world. Even though urbanpopulations are barely reproducing themselves and migration from thecountryside to the town has slowed to a trickle, the demand for more livingspace shows no sign of abating as cities continue to expand their bordersthrough suburban sprawl. The automobile, of course, makes this possiblebut we show no signs of moving to other forms of transport that mightenable our cities to become a little more compact. The problems of sprawlare pervasive. Besides congestion, time wasted, and the long term costs ofusing non-renewable energy, the lack of good social infrastructure inrapidly growing suburban areas together with the erosion of agriculturalland, often of high environmental quality, has focused the debate onwhether or not such forms of development are sustainable. In this paper,we begin by noting that suburban sprawl is an age-old phenomenon whichrepresents a fine balance between the forces that are pushing peopletogether in cities and those that are forcing them out. These lead todifferent types of sprawl in different places and at different times butwhatever the variety, there are costs to be borne. We briefly review these,noting how these affect suburban sprawl in Europe, and the efforts of theEuropean Commission to understand the problem. We conclude not with aplea that cities should be compacted and all automobile traffic removedbut that we should engage in policies for ?smart growth? such as thosebeing adopted in North America

Nature-inspired Cuckoo Search Algorithm for Side Lobe Suppression in a Symmetric Linear Antenna Array

In this paper, we proposed a newly modified cuckoo search (MCS) algorithm integrated with the Roulette wheel selection operator and the inertia weight controlling the search ability towards synthesizing symmetric linear array geometry with minimum side lobe level (SLL) and/or nulls control. The basic cuckoo search (CS) algorithm is primarily based on the natural obligate brood parasitic behavior of some cuckoo species in combination with the Levy flight behavior of some birds and fruit flies. The CS metaheuristic approach is straightforward and capable of solving effectively general N-dimensional, linear and nonlinear optimization problems. The array geometry synthesis is first formulated as an optimization problem with the goal of SLL suppression and/or null prescribed placement in certain directions, and then solved by the newly MCS algorithm for the optimum element or isotropic radiator locations in the azimuth-plane or xy-plane. The study also focuses on the four internal parameters of MCS algorithm specifically on their implicit effects in the array synthesis. The optimal inter-element spacing solutions obtained by the MCS-optimizer are validated through comparisons with the standard CS-optimizer and the conventional array within the uniform and the Dolph-Chebyshev envelope patterns using MATLABTM. Finally, we also compared the fine-tuned MCS algorithm with two popular evolutionary algorithm (EA) techniques include particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithms (GA)

The detection of extragalactic 15^{15}N: Consequences for nitrogen nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution

Detections of extragalactic $^{15}$N are reported from observations of the rare hydrogen cyanide isotope HC$^{15}$N toward the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the core of the (post-) starburst galaxy NGC 4945. Accounting for optical depth effects, the LMC data from the massive star-forming region N113 infer a $^{14}N/^{15}$N ratio of 111 $\pm$ 17, about twice the $^{12}C/^{13}$C value. For the LMC star-forming region N159HW and for the central region of NGC 4945, $^{14}N/^{15}$N ratios are also $\approx$ 100. The $^{14}N/^{15}$N ratios are smaller than all interstellar nitrogen isotope ratios measured in the disk and center of the Milky Way, strongly supporting the idea that $^{15}$N is predominantly of `primary' nature, with massive stars being its dominant source. Although this appears to be in contradiction with standard stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis calculations, it supports recent findings of abundant $^{15}$N production due to rotationally induced mixing of protons into the helium-burning shells of massive stars.Comment: 15 pages including one postscript figure, accepted for publication by ApJ Letter, further comments: please contact Yi-nan Chi

Exact phase diagrams for an Ising model on a two-layer Bethe lattice

Using an iteration technique, we obtain exact expressions for the free energy and the magnetization of an Ising model on a two - layer Bethe lattice with intralayer coupling constants J1 and J2 for the first and the second layer, respectively, and interlayer coupling constant J3 between the two layers; the Ising spins also couple with external magnetic fields, which are different in the two layers. We obtain exact phase diagrams for the system.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. E 59, Issue 6, 199

NEUROLEPTIC MALIGNANT SYNDROME: A CASE REPORT

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a rare but potentially fatal complication of neuroleptic administration. Many clinicians may not be familiar with this complication. This case'report highlights the clinical features of neuroleptic malignant syndrome and its management. CASE HISTOR

Amortised resource analysis with separation logic

Type-based amortised resource analysis following Hofmann and Jost—where resources are associated with individual elements of data structures and doled out to the programmer under a linear typing discipline—have been successful in providing concrete resource bounds for functional programs, with good support for inference. In this work we translate the idea of amortised resource analysis to imperative languages by embedding a logic of resources, based on Bunched Implications, within Separation Logic. The Separation Logic component allows us to assert the presence and shape of mutable data structures on the heap, while the resource component allows us to state the resources associated with each member of the structure. We present the logic on a small imperative language with procedures and mutable heap, based on Java bytecode. We have formalised the logic within the Coq proof assistant and extracted a certified verification condition generator. We demonstrate the logic on some examples, including proving termination of in-place list reversal on lists with cyclic tails

Overexpression of an activated REL mutant enhances the transformed state of the human B-lymphoma BJAB cell line and alters its gene expression profile

The human REL proto-oncogene encodes a transcription factor in the nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB family. Overexpression of REL is acutely transforming in chicken lymphoid cells, but has not been shown to transform any mammalian lymphoid cell type. In this report, we show that overexpression of a highly transforming mutant of REL (RELDeltaTAD1) increases the oncogenic properties of the human B-cell lymphoma BJAB cell line, as shown by increased colony formation in soft agar, tumor formation in SCID (severe combined immunodeficient) mice, and adhesion. BJAB-RELDeltaTAD1 cells also show decreased activation of caspase in response to doxorubicin. BJAB-RELDeltaTAD1 cells have increased levels of active nuclear REL protein as determined by immunofluorescence, subcellular fractionation and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Overexpression of RELDeltaTAD1 in BJAB cells has transformed the gene expression profile of BJAB cells from that of a germinal center B-cell subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (GCB-DLBCL) to that of an activated B-cell subtype (ABC-DLBCL), as evidenced by increased expression of many ABC-defining mRNAs. Upregulated genes in BJAB-RELDeltaTAD1 cells include several NF-kappaB targets that encode proteins previously implicated in B-cell development or oncogenesis, including BCL2, IRF4, CD40 and VCAM1. The cell system we describe here may be valuable for further characterizing the molecular details of REL-induced lymphoma in humans.P42 ES007381 - NIEHS NIH HHS; R01 CA047763 - NCI NIH HHS; CA047763 - NCI NIH HHS; R01 CA047763-20 - NCI NIH HHS; P42 ES007381-140019 - NIEHS NIH HHS; 5 P42 ES07381 - NIEHS NIH HHS; P42 ES007381-150019 - NIEHS NIH HHS; R01 CA047763-19 - NCI NIH HH