An empirical study of vehicle emissions under cordon and distance based road user charging, Leeds, UK.

This paper presents the impact of road user charging (RUC) on vehicle emissions through application of traffic assignment and pollutant emission models. It presents results of an analysis of five RUC schemes on vehicle emissions in Leeds, UK for 2005. The schemes were: a £3 inner ring road cordon charge; a double cordon with a £2 inner ring road and a £1 outer ring road charge; and distance charges of 2, 10 and 20 pence per km levied for travel within the outer cordon. Schemes were compared to a no charge option and results presented here. Emissions are significantly reduced within the inner cordon, whilst beyond the cordon, localised increases and decreases occur. The double cordon exhibits a similar but less marked pattern. Distance charging reduces city-wide emissions by 10% under a 2 p/km charge, 42-49% under a 10 p/km charge and 52-59% under a 20 p/km charge. The higher distance charges reduce emissions within the charge zone, and are also associated with elevated emissions outside the zone, but to a lesser extent than that observed for cordon charging

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of different fractions of Boswellia serrata

The study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of different fractions of Boswellia serrata. The effect of different fractions of Boswellia serrata were studied using carrageenan induced paw edema, acetic acid induced writhing response, formalin induced pain, hot plate and tail flick method for studying anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity, respectively. The different fractions of B. serrata, essential oil (10 ml/kg), gum (100 mg/kg, resin (100 mg/kg) oleo-resin (100 mg/kg) and oleo-gum-resin (100 mg/kg) significantly reduces carrageenan induced inflammation in rats and shows analgesic activity, as determined by acetic acid induced writhing response, formalin induced pain, hot plate and tail flick method. The different fractions of B. serrata showed prompt anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity due to the inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase enzyme.Keywords: Analgesic; Boswellia serrata; Inflammation; 5- lipoxygenase; Burseraceae

Land-use, transport and vehicle technology futures: An air pollution assessment of policy combinations for the Cambridge Sub-Region of the UK

This paper reports on an investigation of the impact on air-quality of combinations of urban form development scenarios and vehicle fleet technology changes. The scenarios combine policies affecting urban land-use plans within the Cambridge Sub-Region of the UK, alongside technological changes within the projected vehicle fleet. Broadly, the scenarios consist of the ‘Trend’ for urban form policy and vehicle technology and the urban form policy options of ‘Planned expansion’, ‘Market-led development’ and ‘Urban compaction’, each combined with form-appropriate technological scenarios addressing the uptake of current, and future, technologies in the vehicle fleet. The framework developed for environmental assessment is described, from land-use transport interaction, through traffic assignment and emissions modelling, through to dispersion calculations. The urban form-vehicle technology combinations have been assessed in terms of overall vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT), greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions, and local air quality (NOx, NO2, PM, HC). Results are presented for 2021 and show that overall network emissions change from −13% (Compaction) to +8% (Market-led) relative to the Trend, but effects on emissions in individual districts (NOx) may much greater, −40% to +50%. Annual mean concentrations of NO2 at the street level may vary by −7 to 8 μg/m3. The use of electric vehicles in the ‘Urban compaction’ scenario aids mitigation of air quality issues in the city centre. The results are discussed with respect to the feasibility of scenario implementation, current approaches to planning, and trends in vehicle technology. Limitations of the modelling framework are also identified, and future developments outlined

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Micropropagation and conservation of selected endangered anticancer medicinal plants from the Western Ghats of India

Globally, cancer is a constant battle which severely affects the human population. The major limitations of the anticancer drugs are the deleterious side effects on the quality of life. Plants play a vital role in curing many diseases with minimal or no side effects. Phytocompounds derived from various medicinal plants serve as the best source of drugs to treat cancer. The global demand for phytomedicines is mostly reached by the medicinal herbs from the tropical nations of the world even though many plant species are threatened with extinction. India is one of the mega diverse countries of the world due to its ecological habitats, latitudinal variation, and diverse climatic range. Western Ghats of India is one of the most important depositories of endemic herbs. It is found along the stretch of south western part of India and constitutes rain forest with more than 4000 diverse medicinal plant species. In recent times, many of these therapeutically valued herbs have become endangered and are being included under the red-listed plant category in this region. Due to a sharp rise in the demand for plant-based products, this rich collection is diminishing at an alarming rate that eventually triggered dangerous to biodiversity. Thus, conservation of the endangered medicinal plants has become a matter of importance. The conservation by using only in situ approaches may not be sufficient enough to safeguard such a huge bio-resource of endangered medicinal plants. Hence, the use of biotechnological methods would be vital to complement the ex vitro protection programs and help to reestablish endangered plant species. In this backdrop, the key tools of biotechnology that could assist plant conservation were developed in terms of in vitro regeneration, seed banking, DNA storage, pollen storage, germplasm storage, gene bank (field gene banking), tissue bank, and cryopreservation. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to critically review major endangered medicinal plants that possess anticancer compounds and their conservation aspects by integrating various biotechnological tool

A new disease-burden method for estimating the impact of outdoor air quality on human health

Urban air quality is a serious problem, with an estimated 40 million people in Europe exposed to exceedences of existing WHO air-quality guidelines, with prospects of further declines in air quality due to projected growth in motor vehicle traffic. Air-quality management strategies, underpinned by legislation are attempting to combat this problem. To support such strategies, assessment of the costs and benefits of remedial measures is required, including an assessment of the impact of urban air quality on human health. This paper describes a disease burden estimation approach, developed to assess ?health gain? from recreational water quality improvement, and its application to urban air quality and incidence of respiratory disease. The method represents an improvement over existing disease-burden estimation techniques applied to air quality, in that by considering the probability density function of pollutant concentrations, improved estimates of exposure and hence disease burden, and also ?health gain? from air-quality improvement, are possible. Estimations of mortality advanced by fine particulate matter (PM10) are presented for five UK cities. Implications of the method for disease burden and air-quality standards are discussed. The utility of integrating the disease-burden assessment model with linked dynamic models of land-use, vehicle movement and pollutant dispersion, as a means to identify remedial strategic planning initiatives, is highlightedPeer reviewe