The preliminary study of urbanization, fossil fuels consumptions and CO2 emission in Karachi

According to population, Karachi is the first largest city of Pakistan and 9th largest in the world. During last three decades, it has faced mass urbanization, huge population growth, many fold increase in vehicles and industrial development. As a result the demand of more energy in form of fossil fuels increased for domestic, industrial and transportation purpose. In this research the maximum available data of Karachi about urbanization, population and vehicles growth, industrialization, energy consumption and CO2 emissions are analyzed. Time periods considered for this work are according to the availability of the data. The results show that during 1947 to 2008, both urban population and urban area increased to 1500%. During 1990 to 2008, the percentage growth in vehicles is double than that of population growth during this time period. During 1980 to 2007 the consumption of oil and petrol, natural gas and coal increased to 219%, 365% and 287%, respectively. The emission of CO2 jumped from 39 million metric tons in 1980 to 151 million metric tons in 2007

Economic and social assessment of fish farming in cages in the southern Caspian Sea

This study aimed to assess the social, economic and fish farming in cages in the Southern Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is considered as one of the most important water resources of Iran, in which due to the appropriate weather conditions in the north of the country, has the potential for marine aquaculture. With the implementation of this plan would say that with respect to the proposed initial selection from Kheshtsar in Mazandaran province and Kiashahr in Guilan province with along coastline of about 250 km from the depth of 20 to 100 meters and an the area of about 2027km^2 has the cage aquaculture talent. Of course, at the depths of greater than 100 M by using the world technology procedure, there is also the possibility of the establishment of marine cage aquaculture. Now, with the regards of the above potential in the Caspian Sea coastline, it is expected at least 200 cages fish sites farming in with the establishment of 40 cages per site and produce 160,000 tons with creating of 1,000 direct jobs and 2,000 indirect jobs and income 2000 billion gross annual average net profit of 40% could be 800 billion in which will produce of proteins needed part of the country, creating jobs, welfare, prosperity and economy in the region. With the implementation of such national project, it is needed to establish pilot farms to reach the goals: environmental assessment studies, risk assessment, aquatic selection and the use of appropriate cage structures according to ecological conditions of southern Caspian Sea

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Cigarette smoke promotes dendritic cell accumulation in COPD; a Lung Tissue Research Consortium study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Abnormal immune responses are believed to be highly relevant in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dendritic cells provide a critical checkpoint for immunity by their capacity to both induce and suppress immunity. Although evident that cigarette smoke, the primary cause of COPD, significantly influences dendritic cell functions, little is known about the roles of dendritic cells in the pathogenesis of COPD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The extent of dendritic cell infiltration in COPD tissue specimens was determined using immunohistochemical localization of CD83+ cells (marker of matured myeloid dendritic cells), and CD1a+ cells (Langerhans cells). The extent of tissue infiltration with Langerhans cells was also determined by the relative expression of the CD207 gene in COPD <it>versus </it>control tissues. To determine mechanisms by which dendritic cells accumulate in COPD, complimentary studies were conducted using monocyte-derived human dendritic cells exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE), and dendritic cells extracted from mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In human COPD lung tissue, we detected a significant increase in the total number of CD83+ cells, and significantly higher amounts of CD207 mRNA when compared with control tissue. Human monocyte-derived dendritic cells exposed to CSE (0.1-2%) exhibited enhanced survival <it>in vitro </it>when compared with control dendritic cells. Murine dendritic cells extracted from mice exposed to cigarette smoke for 4 weeks, also demonstrated enhanced survival compared to dendritic cells extracted from control mice. Acute exposure of human dendritic cells to CSE induced the cellular pro-survival proteins heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and B cell lymphoma leukemia-x(L) (Bcl-xL), predominantly through oxidative stress. Although activated human dendritic cells conditioned with CSE expressed diminished migratory CCR7 expression, their migration towards the CCR7 ligand CCL21 was not impaired.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data indicate that COPD is associated with increased numbers of cells bearing markers associated with Langerhans cells and mature dendritic cells, and that cigarette smoke promotes survival signals and augments survival of dendritic cells. Although CSE suppressed dendritic cell CCR7 expression, migration towards a CCR7 ligand was not diminished, suggesting that reduced CCR7-dependent migration is unlikely to be an important mechanism for dendritic cell retention in the lungs of smokers with COPD.</p

Enteric Neural Crest Differentiation in Ganglioneuromas Implicates Hedgehog Signaling in Peripheral Neuroblastic Tumor Pathogenesis

Peripheral neuroblastic tumors (PNTs) share a common origin in the sympathetic nervous system, but manifest variable differentiation and growth potential. Malignant neuroblastoma (NB) and benign ganglioneuroma (GN) stand at opposite ends of the clinical spectrum. We hypothesize that a common PNT progenitor is driven to variable differentiation by specific developmental signaling pathways. To elucidate developmental pathways that direct PNTs along the differentiation spectrum, we compared the expression of genes related to neural crest development in GN and NB. In GNs, we found relatively low expression of sympathetic markers including adrenergic biosynthesis enzymes, indicating divergence from sympathetic fate. In contrast, GNs expressed relatively high levels of enteric neuropeptides and key constituents of the Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway, including Dhh, Gli1 and Gli3. Predicted HH targets were also differentially expressed in GN, consistent with transcriptional response to HH signaling. These findings indicate that HH signaling is specifically active in GN. Together with the known role of HH activity in enteric neural development, these findings further suggested a role for HH activity in directing PNTs away from the sympathetic lineage toward a benign GN phenotype resembling enteric ganglia. We tested the potential for HH signaling to advance differentiation in PNTs by transducing NB cell lines with Gli1 and determining phenotypic and transcriptional response. Gli1 inhibited proliferation of NB cells, and induced a pattern of gene expression that resembled the differential pattern of gene expression of GN, compared to NB (p<0.00001). Moreover, the transcriptional response of SY5Y cells to Gli1 transduction closely resembled the transcriptional response to the differentiation agent retinoic acid (p<0.00001). Notably, Gli1 did not induce N-MYC expression in neuroblastoma cells, but strongly induced RET, a known mediator of RA effect. The decrease in NB cell proliferation induced by Gli1, and the similarity in the patterns of gene expression induced by Gli1 and by RA, corroborated by closely matched gene sets in GN tumors, all support a model in which HH signaling suppresses PNT growth by promoting differentiation along alternative neural crest pathways