Fundamentals of public-private partnerships in the transportation sector : international methodologies of highway public-private partnerships and a framework to increase the probability of success and allocate risk

Thesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2013.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 50-53).In 2009 the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the US infrastructure sector a grade D, based on the current and future needs of the nation's infrastructure and estimates that by year 2020, the US surface transportation deficit will reach $846 billion. Furthermore, in 2013 the US Congressional Budget Office estimates that the main source of highway funding, the Highway Trust Fund, will have insufficient capital to meet its shortfalls by 2015. As defined by the ASCE, infrastructure is the physical framework upon which an economy operates. Without immediate improvement and alternative solutions to fund the crumbling roadway network, the US will continue to struggle to find its way to economic prosperity. This thesis aims to give an overview of how private participation can play an integral role in revamping the US highway network and will outline several of the most important aspects of structuring a successful highway public-private partnership (PPP). Throughout the thesis, PPP is referred to as a long-term contractual agreement between a private entity and a public sponsor to construct and maintain an infrastructure asset. PPP is a complex and potentially dangerous partnership as it can inadvertently put the public at risk; however, it has also proven to be a very successful tool in many countries around the world. By examining the US highway sector and the history of transportation PPP's, this thesis analyzes failed and successful cases, as well as study partnership frameworks implemented in other countries. With this, the thesis attempts to educate stakeholders and spread awareness of how to identify and effectively allocate risks associated with PPP's. If structured and executed appropriately, PPP's will help the stakeholders in highway privatizations reach each of their respective goals and can help rebuild a sustainable highway network throughout the US.by Ryan Butler and Eunil Lee.S.M.in Real Estate Developmen

Cross-talk between human airway epithelial cells and 3T3-J2 feeder cells involves partial activation of human MET by murine HGF

There is considerable interest in the ex vivo propagation of primary human basal epithelial stem/progenitor cells with a view to their use in drug development, toxicity testing and regenerative medicine. These cells can be expanded in co-culture with mitotically inactivated 3T3-J2 murine embryonic feeder cells but, similar to other epithelial cell culture systems employing 3T3-J2 cells, the aspects of cross-talk between 3T3-J2 cells and human airway basal cells that are critical for their expansion remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated secreted growth factors that are produced by 3T3-J2 cells and act upon primary human airway basal cells. We found robust production of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) from fibroblast feeder cells following mitotic inactivation. Consistent with the limited cross-species reactivity of murine HGF on the human HGF receptor (MET; HGFR), MET inhibition did not affect proliferative responses in human airway basal cells and HGF could not replace feeder cells in this culture system. However, we found that murine HGF is not completely inactive on human airway epithelial cells or cancer cell lines but stimulates the phosphorylation of GRB2-associated-binding protein 2 (GAB2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6). Although HGF induces phosphorylation of STAT6 tyrosine 641 (Y641), there is no subsequent STAT6 nuclear translocation or STAT6-driven transcriptional response. Overall, these findings highlight the relevance of cross-species protein interactions between murine feeder cells and human epithelial cells in 3T3-J2 co-culture and demonstrate that STAT6 phosphorylation occurs in response to MET activation in epithelial cells. However, STAT6 nuclear translocation does not occur in response to HGF, precluding the transcriptional activity of STAT6

A technological framework for data-driven IoT systems: application on landslide monitoring

The emergence of the paradigm of the Internet of Things has underpinned the development of data-driven cyber-physical systems that collect and process data that is dense both in space and time. The application areas of such data-driven IoT systems are numerous and their socio-economic impact of great importance as they enable the monitoring and management of processes in sectors ranging from urban management to management of the natural environment. In this work, we introduce and detail an end-to-end technological framework for data-driven IoT systems for landslide monitoring. The framework is articulated in three tiers – namely data acquisition, data curation and data presentation. For each tier we present and detail its design and development aspects; from the IoT hardware design and the wireless communication technologies of choice, to how Big Data infrastructure and Machine Learning components can be combined to support a sophisticated presentation tier that delivers the true added value of a system to its final users. The framework is validated, extended and fine-tuned by means of two pilots at locations experiencing the impact of different landslide types and activity. This work qualitatively improves upon existing methods of landslide monitoring and showcases how data-driven IoT systems can pave new pathways for interdisciplinary research as well as generate positive impact on modern societies

Model Independent Information On Solar Neutrino Oscillations

We present the results of a Bayesian analysis of solar neutrino data in terms of nu_e->nu_{mu,tau} oscillations, independent from the Standard Solar Model predictions for the solar neutrino fluxes. We show that such a model independent analysis allows to constraint the values of the neutrino mixing parameters in limited regions around the usual SMA, LMA, LOW and VO regions. Furthermore, there is a strong indication in favor of large neutrino mixing and large values of Delta m^2 (LMA region). We calculate also the allowed ranges of the neutrino fluxes and we show that they are in good agreement with the Standard Solar Model prediction. In particular, the ratio of the 8B flux with its Standard Solar Model prediction is constrained in the interval [0.45,1.42] with 99.73% probability. Finally, we show that the hypothesis of no neutrino oscillations is strongly disfavored in a model independent way with respect to the hypothesis of neutrino oscillations.Comment: 40 pages, 20 figures. Added references and improved figure

Low-energy couplings of QCD from current correlators near the chiral limit

We investigate a new numerical procedure to compute fermionic correlation functions at very small quark masses. Large statistical fluctuations, due to the presence of local ``bumps'' in the wave functions associated with the low-lying eigenmodes of the Dirac operator, are reduced by an exact low-mode averaging. To demonstrate the feasibility of the technique, we compute the two-point correlator of the left-handed vector current with Neuberger fermions in the quenched approximation, for lattices with a linear extent of L~1.5 fm, a lattice spacing a~0.09 fm, and quark masses down to the epsilon-regime. By matching the results with the corresponding (quenched) chiral perturbation theory expressions, an estimate of (quenched) low-energy constants can be obtained. We find agreement between the quenched values of F extrapolated from the p-regime and extracted in the epsilon-regime.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

The construction of masculinities and femininities in the Church of England:the case of the male clergy spouse

The ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of England in 1994 signified great change. The impact of the new priests was well documented, and their integration became the focus of much research in the following years. One important area of change was the altered dynamics of gender identity. New roles had opened up for women, but new identities had also emerged for men. While women priests were a new historical emergence, so too were clergy husbands. This paper will consider the historical construction of masculinities and femininities within the church and will go on to look at this in the context of clergy spouses, specifically focusing on men occupying this role. Some provisional findings, acting as work in progress, will be considered

Niche models for British plants and lichens obtained using an ensemble approach

Site-occupancy models that predict habitat suitability for plant species in relation to measurable environmental factors can be useful for conservation planning. Such models can be derived from large-scale presence–absence datasets on the basis of environmental observations or, where only floristic data are available, using plant trait values averaged across a plot. However, the estimated modelled relationship between species presence and environmental variables depends on the type of statistical model adopted and hence can introduce additional uncertainty. Authors used an ensemble-modelling approach to constrain and quantify the uncertainty because of the choice of statistical model, applying generalised linear models (GLM), generalised additive models (GAM), and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). Niche models were derived for over 1000 species of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, representing a large proportion of the British flora and many species occurring in continental Europe. Each model predicts habitat suitability for a species in response to climate variables and trait-based scores (evaluated excluding the species being modelled) for soil pH, fertility, wetness and canopy height. An R package containing the fitted models for each species is presented which allows the user to predict the habitat suitability of a given set of conditions for a particular species. Further functions within the package are included so that these habitat suitability scores can be plotted in relation to individual explanatory variables. A simple case study shows how the R package (MultiMOVE) can be used quickly and efficiently to answer questions of scientific interest, specifically whether climate change will counteract any benefits of sheep-grazing for a particular plant community. The package itself is freely available via http://doi.org/10.5285/94ae1a5a-2a28-4315-8d4b-35ae964fc3b9

Spin fluctuations in nearly magnetic metals from ab-initio dynamical spin susceptibility calculations:application to Pd and Cr95V5

We describe our theoretical formalism and computational scheme for making ab-initio calculations of the dynamic paramagnetic spin susceptibilities of metals and alloys at finite temperatures. Its basis is Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory within an electronic multiple scattering, imaginary time Green function formalism. Results receive a natural interpretation in terms of overdamped oscillator systems making them suitable for incorporation into spin fluctuation theories. For illustration we apply our method to the nearly ferromagnetic metal Pd and the nearly antiferromagnetic chromium alloy Cr95V5. We compare and contrast the spin dynamics of these two metals and in each case identify those fluctuations with relaxation times much longer than typical electronic `hopping times'Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Physical Review B (July 2000