The Intersection of Place and the Economy

Examines urban demographic shifts; links between built environments and economic trends of globalization and production of tradable goods and services, technological innovation, and a low-carbon imperative; and policy implications for sustainable growth

Commercial Motor Vehicles' Safety - A California Perspective

This report presents the findings of an examination of commercial motor vehicle crashes in California. Initially, a review of the basic descriptive statistics associated with truck-involved crashes in California was conducted; it covered the time period between January 1995 and December 2004 based on the Statewide Incident Tracking and Reporting System (SWITRS) data base, which contains information about every single motor vehicle accident in the state reported to a law enforcement agency. In addition to examinations of the entire population of truck-involved crashes in the state over the designated period, truck-involved crashes in Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area were also investigated. The next part of the report investigated the rates of truck accidents across California to determine the risk factors involved, including exposure to truck crashes, environmental conditions and demographic factors. The investigation involves modeling crashes as a function of these risk factors based on SWITRS data between 1998 and 2004

Interim Report: Compliance and Commercial Vehicle Operators – A Systems Evaluation of the Problem and Virtual Solutions

This report documents a review of the literature for commercial motor vehicle inspection and compliance stations and its relationship with the growth of truck travel over the next 25 years and the lack of concurrent capacity increases in staffing at such stations. Problems result in that more commercial vehicles will need to stop for inspection with longer queues at weigh stations associated with increased congestion, increased wait times, more idling trucks, and increased safety hazards. Alternatively, without stopping at inspection and compliance stations other problems will result such as roadway pavement and structure damage, and safety-related and security-related issues. Proposed advanced technological solutions to these problems are examined focusing on the four areas of pavement damage, safety, air quality, and security

Chloride channels in cancer: Focus on chloride intracellular channel 1 and 4 (CLIC1 AND CLIC4) proteins in tumor development and as novel therapeutic targets.

In recent decades, growing scientific evidence supports the role of ion channels in the development of different cancers. Both potassium selective pores and chloride permeabilities are considered the most active channels during tumorigenesis. High rate of proliferation, active migration, and invasiveness into non-neoplastic tissues are specific properties of neoplastic transformation. All these actions require partial or total involvement of chloride channel activity. In this context, this class of membrane proteins could represent valuable therapeutic targets for the treatment of resistant tumors. However, this encouraging premise has not so far produced any valid new channel-targeted antitumoral molecule for cancer treatment. Problematic for drug design targeting ion channels is their vital role in normal cells for essential physiological functions. By targeting these membrane proteins involved in pathological conditions, it is inevitable to cause relevant side effects in healthy organs. In light of this, a new protein family, the chloride intracellular channels (CLICs), could be a promising class of therapeutic targets for its intrinsic individualities: CLIC1 and CLIC4, in particular, not only are overexpressed in specific tumor types or their corresponding stroma but also change localization and function from hydrophilic cytosolic to integral transmembrane proteins as active ionic channels or signal transducers during cell cycle progression in certain cases. These changes in intracellular localization, tissue compartments, and channel function, uniquely associated with malignant transformation, may offer a unique target for cancer therapy, likely able to spare normal cells. This article is part of a special issue itled "Membrane Channels and Transporters in Cancers.