Assessing School Neighborhood Walkability: A Targeted Approach to Safe Routes to School Programming

This thesis intends to demonstrate how capital infrastructure investments can be targeted objectively, using the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program for context. SRTS impacts physical activity, a determinant of childhood obesity by encouraging children’s regular active transportation use. This thesis supports the widespread implementation of SRTS and has developed the Shelling Model to objectively identify schools for programming. Accordingly, the Shelling Model aims to objectively identify physical and socio-economic environment variables impacting HISD-E middle school neighborhoods’ walkability. The Shelling Model is a first step in creating a walkability index for which pedestrian orientation levels can be identified and schools targeted. This model facilitates the identification of variables, providing insight into neighborhood walkability levels. Revealed by statistically significant variables, in combination with Walkscore and Catchment regression models’ respective 45.5 and 13.6 Adjusted R-Square values, the Shelling archetype proves a useful tool for investigating the walkability of HISD-E middle school neighborhoods

Levitating the noise performance of ultra-stable laser cavities assisted by a deep neural network: The non-intuitive role of the mirrors

The most precise measurand available to science is the frequency of ultra-stable lasers. With a relative deviation of 4 × 10−17 over a wide range of measuring times between one second and 100 seconds, the smallest effects in nature can thus be made measurable. To enable cutting-edge precision, the laser frequency is stabilized to an external optical cavity. This complex optical device must be manufactured to the highest standards and shielded from environmental influences. Given this assumption, the smallest internal sources of perturbation become dominant, namely the internal noise of the optical components. In this work, we present the optimization of all relevant noise sources from all components of the frequency-stabilized laser. We discuss the correlation between each individual noise source and the different parameters of the system and discover the significance of the mirrors. The optimized laser offers a design stability of 8 × 10−18 for an operation at room temperature for measuring times between one second and 100 seconds

Development of biodegradable PLGA nanoparticles surface engineered with hyaluronic acid for targeted delivery of paclitaxel to triple negative breast cancer cells

This study aimed at development of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles embedded with paclitaxel and coated with hyaluronic acid (HA-PTX-PLGA) to actively target the drug to a triple negative breast cancer cells. Nanoparticles were successfully fabricated using a modified oil-in-water emulsion method. The effect of various formulations parameters on the physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles was investigated. SEM imaging confirmed the spherical shape and nano-scale size of the nanoparticles. A sustained drug release profile was obtained and enhanced PTX cytotoxicity was observed when MDA-MB-231 cells were incubated with the HA-PTX-PLGA formulation compared to cells incubated with the non-HA coated nanoparticles. Moreover, HA-PLGA nanoparticles exhibited improved cellular uptake, based on a possible receptor mediated endocytosis due to interaction of HA with CD44 receptors when compared to non-coated PLGA nanoparticles. The non-haemolytic potential of the nanoparticles indicated the suitability of the developed formulation for intravenous administration

Limits on Relief through Constrained Exchange on Random Graphs

Agents are represented by nodes on a random graph (e.g., small world or truncated power law). Each agent is endowed with a zero-mean random value that may be either positive or negative. All agents attempt to find relief, i.e., to reduce the magnitude of that initial value, to zero if possible, through exchanges. The exchange occurs only between agents that are linked, a constraint that turns out to dominate the results. The exchange process continues until a Pareto equilibrium is achieved. Only 40%-90% of the agents achieved relief on small world graphs with mean degree between 2 and 40. Even fewer agents achieved relief on scale-free like graphs with a truncated power law degree distribution. The rate at which relief grew with increasing degree was slow, only at most logarithmic for all of the graphs considered; viewed in reverse, relief is resilient to the removal of links.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 22 references Changes include name change for Lory A. Ellebracht (formerly Cooperstock, e-mail address stays the same), elimination of contractions and additional references. We also note that our results are less surprising in view of other work now cite

Identification of the first homozygous 1‐bp deletion in GDF9 gene leading to primary ovarian insufficiency by using targeted massively parallel sequencing

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141610/1/cge13156_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141610/2/cge13156.pd

In Vivo Testing of MicroRNA-Mediated Gene Knockdown in Zebrafish

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become an attractive model for human disease modeling as there are a large number of orthologous genes that encode similar proteins to those found in humans. The number of tools available to manipulate the zebrafish genome is limited and many currently used techniques are only effective during early development (such as morpholino-based antisense technology) or it is phenotypically driven and does not offer targeted gene knockdown (such as chemical mutagenesis). The use of RNA interference has been met with controversy as off-target effects can make interpreting phenotypic outcomes difficult; however, this has been resolved by creating zebrafish lines that contain stably integrated miRNA constructs that target the desired gene of interest. In this study, we show that a commercially available miRNA vector system with a mouse-derived miRNA backbone is functional in zebrafish and is effective in causing eGFP knockdown in a transient in vivo eGFP sensor assay system. We chose to apply this system to the knockdown of transcripts that are implicated in the human cardiac disorder, Long QT syndrome

Bovine Cardiac Troponin I Gene (\u3cem\u3eTNNI3\u3c/em\u3e) as a Candidate Gene for Bovine Dilated Cardiomyopathy

The cardiac troponin complex, which is an important component of the contractile apparatus, is composed of the three subunits troponin I (TnI), troponin C (TnC) and troponin T (TnT). Troponin I is the inhibitory subunit and consists of three isoforms encoded by TNNI1, TNNI2 and TNNI3 genes, respectively. Due to the different types of cardiomyopathies caused by mutations in the TNNI3 gene and its fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping on bovine chromosome 18q26, which was shown to be linked to the recessively inherited bovine dilated cardiomyopathy (BDCMP), bovine TNNI3 was considered as candidate gene for BDCMP. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) TNNI3 expression analysis resulted in a significant difference between BDCMP affected and unaffected animals when normalized to ACTB gene expression, but there was no significant difference in expression when normalized to GAPDH. Northen blotting experiment was in agreement with the expression analysis and did not reveal a significant difference between the group of BDCMP affected and unaffected animals. Sequencing of the bovine TNNI3 gene revealed a single nucleotide polymorphism in intron 6 (c.378+315G\u3eA), but this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)was present regardless of the BDCMP status. In summary our data provide evidence to exclude the bovine TNNI3 gene as a candidate for BDCMP

Gene expression profiling of breast tumours from New Zealand patients

AIMS: New Zealand has one of the highest rates of breast cancer incidence in the world. We investigated the gene expression profiles of breast tumours from New Zealand patients, compared them to gene expression profiles of international breast cancer cohorts and identified any associations between altered gene expression and the clinicopathological features of the tumours. METHODS: Affymetrix microarrays were used to measure the gene expression profiles of 106 breast tumours from New Zealand patients. Gene expression data from six international breast cancer cohorts were collated, and all the gene expression data were analysed using standard bioinformatic and statistical tools. RESULTS: Gene expression profiles associated with tumour ER and ERBB2 status, molecular subtype and selected gene expression signatures within the New Zealand cohort were consistent with those found in international cohorts. Significant differences in clinicopathological features such as tumour grade, tumour size and lymph node status were also observed between the New Zealand and international cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Gene expression profiles, which are a sensitive indicator of tumour biology, showed no clear di¬fference between breast tumours from New Zealand patients and those from non-New Zealand patients. This suggests that other factors may contribute to the high and increasing breast cancer incidence in New Zealand compared to international populations

The value of recreational physical activity in Aotearoa New Zealand: A scoping review of evidence and implications for social value measurement

Internationally, there is rising interest in measuring the value of sport and physical activity to society. A critical step in valuing the sector is first establishing the relationship between engagement in sport and physical activity and the societal outcomes that ensue. This paper summarises the findings of a literature review carried out as part of a larger study on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of recreational physical activity in Aotearoa New Zealand. The review aimed to synthesise existing evidence on the relationship between recreational physical activity and wellbeing outcomes for all New Zealanders, including tangata whenua (Māori, who are Aotearoa New Zealand’s Indigenous population). The methodology took the format of a scoping review and included a series of searches for academic and grey literature, including literature concerning Māori that might have been overlooked in a traditional academic search. The findings are grouped into five outcome areas: physical health; subjective wellbeing; individual development; personal behaviour; and social and community development. The review found some compelling evidence which shows examples of the links between sport and physical activity and outcomes in each of these areas for specific population sub-groups. In particular, for Māori, the findings demonstrate a strong impact on social and community development through building social capital and enhancing cultural identity. However, in all outcome areas, there is mixed quality evidence, a small amount of evidence on which to base definitive conclusions, and limited evidence relating to the monetary value of outcomes. The review concludes that there is a need for further research to strengthen the evidence base for social impact measurement, particularly around the impact of sport and physical activity for Indigenous populations